Meta-optics reveals attosecond physical processes in vacuum tunnel.

A new meta-optics for microscopes with extremely high spatial and temporal resolution has been developed at Harvard and successfully tested at Graz University of Technology. The lens of the microscope has made it possible to use extreme ultraviolet radiation for the first time, enabling it to follow ultra-fast physical processes in the attosecond range. The possible applications for the new research field of attosecond microscopy are manifold, especially in semiconductor and solar cell technology.