Micro-optics: From wormholes to medical applications

Locher, Maik (2025) Micro-optics: From wormholes to medical applications. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Lying within the overarching boundaries of micro-optics, this thesis begins by exploring two different “pixelated” approaches to medical spectacles. The first was aimed as a treatment alternative to surgical corrections for torsional diplopia (double vision due to a relative eyeball rotation around the back-to-front axis). To do this, the spectacles were designed to approximately rotate the view seen through them. In the very basic design consisting of simple wedges (each of which we call a pixel), the component does not actually perform imaging leading to a reduced visual acuity of about 6/420. This was worse than desired, which is why the latter half of the chapter was designated to implementing methods that may improve the visual acuity, consisting of a pupil restriction and a new approach we call derivative control. Using this, the visual acuity was improved to a value of about 6/35, but at the cost of added complexity and bulkiness. The second spectacle pair was designed to help with uncorrected refractive errors by permitting patients to adjust the focusing power of the spectacles through simply rotating two cylindrical lens spirals relative to one another. The combination yields an equivalent Fresnel lens, which is the reason we call these adaptive Fresnel lenses. These were simulated in the ray optical limit, yielding an expected feasible variable range of ±2 diopters. Several configurations were explored where the distances and spiral types were varied, with ray trace simulations confirming the expected view through the adaptive lens.

The other half of the text is dedicated to an extension of the previously published ideal lens cloak. The cloaking principles were explored, yielding conditions for which a light ray within the cloak must remain within the cloak and hence travel in a closed ray trajectory. These were used in the theoretical creation of a novel “extreme omnidirectional ideal lens cloak” which hides an object within from all viewing directions. Furthermore, attractor-like properties were found within the cloak, trapping some light rays entering from the outside. These properties were also found in a more realizable cloak we call the “shifty cloak”, which suggests significant similarities between the two cloaks. The shifty cloak was used to construct a Janus device and an optical wormhole, the latter of which was adversely affected by the attractor properties.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics
• Colleges/Schools: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Funder's Name: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
• Supervisor's Name: Courtial, Dr. Johannes
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-85459
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 23 Sep 2025 10:50
• Last Modified: 23 Sep 2025 11:03
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85459
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85459

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