The researchers could bend silica glass sheets—thinner than a strand of human hair—directly on a silicon chip in under a millisecond.
By ShulaRosen
Scientists at Tel Aviv University have discovered a way to fold ultra-thin sheets of glass into tiny three-dimensional shapes, a technique they refer to as “photonic origami.”
The method, reported in Optica, could pave the way for new generations of miniature optical devices used in data processing, sensing, and even fundamental physics experiments.
The breakthrough came by accident when graduate student Manya Malhotra tried to locate an invisible laser beam on a glass sheet.
Instead of glowing as expected, the glass suddenly folded.
Researchers soon realized that laser heating on one side of the sheet caused the glass to soften, and surface tension pulled it into precise folds.
By adapting this effect, the team led by Prof. Tal Carmon showed they could bend silica glass sheets—thinner than a strand of human hair—directly on a silicon chip in under a millisecond.
The folds can be shaped with high accuracy, producing smooth optical structures such as helices, resonators, and concave mirrors.
Unlike conventional 3D printing, which produces rough surfaces unsuitable for optics, the photonic origami technique creates ultra-smooth glass components that can guide and reflect light without distortion.
Carmon said this makes it possible to design high-performance micro-devices, such as zoom lenses small enough to replace multiple smartphone cameras, or optical circuits that use light instead of electricity for faster and more efficient computing.
The researchers also employed this method to construct a microscopic “table” with a mirror at its base, inspired by theoretical proposals for studying gravity at extremely small scales.
They suggest such lightweight structures could one day be suspended by light and used to explore mysteries such as dark matter.
The study shows that carefully folding glass at the microscale is not only feasible but practical. By bringing glass photonics into the third dimension, the Tel Aviv team believes they have opened new frontiers for integrated optical technology and scientific discovery.
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