In a potentially groundbreaking new discovery, scientists have found a way to create metalenses, which are lenses with embedded nanostructures that make them better able to focus light. And it’s a discovery that could have major implications for virtual reality and other significant technological applications.

Metalenses were first unveiled to the public in 2016, but they have suffered from tremendous limitations due to not being able to use the whole spectrum of light. However, researchers at Harvard found a way to create a single flat lens taht can focus the entire visible spectrum, even white light.

This means that lenses can take up less space in a device, which could lead to a tremendous increase in the quality and definition of virtual reality devices. The research team was able to overcome past problems by using titanium dioxide nanofins that enables all wavelengths of light to focus, but at different distances.

“Metalenses — flat surfaces that use nanostructures to focus light — promise to revolutionize optics by replacing the bulky, curved lenses currently used in optical devices with a simple, flat surface,” reads the statement from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “But, these metalenses have remained limited in the spectrum of light they can focus well. Now a team of researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has developed the first single lens that can focus the entire visible spectrum of light — including white light — in the same spot and in high resolution. This has only ever been achieved in conventional lenses by stacking multiple lenses.”