Written by AZoMFeb 18 2021 The electromagnetic echo of the Big Bang, called the cosmic microwave background (CMB), is a kind of radiation that has been moving through time and space ever since the birth of the very first atoms around 380,000 years after the evolution of the universe. Left: One of the lenses developed by McMahon’s team is installed in a camera assembly. Top right: This shows a close-up view of the stepped pyramid metamaterial structure responsible for the lens’ antireflective properties. Bottom right: Members of the McMahon lab stand by recently fabricated silicon lenses. Image Credit: Jeff McMahon. Plotting very small changes in the CMB informs researchers about the evolution of the universe and what it is composed of. Generally, to capture the cold, ancient light from the CMB, scientists employ dedicated telescopes that are integrated with ultrasensitive cameras for identifying millimeter-wavelength signals. These advanced cameras will feature up to 100,000 superconducting detectors