Now, a new lens that can create microscopic 3-D image

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Actress Vanessa Hudgens (left) takes a photo with her sister Stella on her phone as they watch a basketball game

Scientists have developed a fingernail-sized optical lens which they say can produce 3-D image of an object by providing nine viewing angles at the same time.
Other 3-D microscopes use multiple lenses or cameras that move around an object. But, the new lens, developed by a team of engineers at Ohio State University in the US, is the first single, stationary lens to create microscopic 3-D images by itself.
Detailing their work in the Journal of the Optical Society of America A, the researchers said their lens would be a hit among microelectronics and medical device manufacturers, who currently use very complex machinery to view the tiny components that they assemble.
Lead researcher Allen Yi said though they milled their prototype thermoplastic lens on a precision cutting machine, the same lens could be manufactured less expensively through traditional moulding techniques.
“Ultimately, we hope to help manufacturers reduce the number and sizes of equipment they need to miniaturise products,” Yi said.
The prototype lens, which is about the size of a fingernail, looks at first glance like a gem cut for a ring, with a flat top surrounded by eight facets.