Rob Devlin photo

Rob Devlin

  • Metalenz
  • Co-founder and CEO
  • Biography

Rob Devlin is Co-founder and CEO of Metalenz, a fabless optical semiconductor company pioneering the commercialization of meta-optics. His work focuses on moving scientific research towards real world applications leading to 15 patents and patent applications. In 2022, Rob and his team at Metalenz announced the world’s first metasurfaces in market in consumer devices via a partnership with semiconductor giant, STMicroelectronics.

Prior to co-founding Metalenz, Rob completed a joint BS/MS in Electrical Engineering and Materials Science at Drexel University and a Ph.D. at Harvard University in Applied Physics with Professor Federico Capasso. His research has spanned the topics of nanofabrication, nanophotonics and materials science. He has authored or co-authored 20+ publications that have provided critical advances in the emerging field of metasurfaces- one of which was selected as the cover of Science Journal and voted one of Science’s 10 breakthroughs of 2016.

  • Presentation
Photonics meta materials and their application perspective in meta

The metaverse is a virtual reality where users experience rich interaction and connection in real world detail, across geographies and time zones, within a simulated digital environment. The equipment needed to facilitate these virtual worlds is powered by a variety of sensors, and 3D sensing is one of the most important enablers. In 3D sensor modules, accurate transmission and reception of laser light is highly correlated to the precision and performance of the optics used – both for the infra-red (IR) laser that emits light and the image sensor that receives and measures it. This presentation will explore how innovative optical metasurfaces can enable next-generation 3D sensing capability with significantly improved laser light pattern performance and precision as compared to conventional optics. In addition, metasurface optics also provide an order-of-magnitude improvement in part-to-part repeatability, temperature stability, and form-factor reduction.

Metalenz logo
  • Company Profile

Metalenz

Metalenz designs and sells metasurface optics for illumination, imaging, and advanced sensing to high volume markets. The company’s metasurface technology provides complex, multifunctional optical performance in a single semiconductor layer. Metalenz is the first company to commercialize metasurface optics and holds exclusive rights to foundational IP from Harvard University and 20+ patents on innovations that simplify and improve optical devices. Founded in 2016, Boston, MA USA.

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