Optical films and methods of making the same

• US 20050275944A1
• Filed: 06/11/2004
• Published: 12/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Abraxis Biosensors, LLC
• Original Assignee: Abraxis Biosensors, LLC
• Inventors: Wang, Jian Jim, Deng, Xuegong, Nikolov, Anguel N.
• Application Number:
  US10/866,416
• Publication Number:
  US 20050275944A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/576
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/113 using inorganic layer materials only
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/118 having sub-optical wavelength surface structures designed to provide an enhanced transmittance, e.g. moth-eye structures
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/18 Diffraction gratings holographic optical elements G02B5/32, G03H; integrally combined with optical fibres G02B6/02057; for coupling light guides G02B6/34; integrally combined with optical integrated light guides G02B6/12; grating systems G02B27/44
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1809 with pitch less than or comparable to the wavelength
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1857 using exposure or etching means, e.g. holography, photolithography, exposure to electron or ion beams
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1866 Transmission gratings characterised by their structure, e.g. step profile, contours of substrate or grooves, pitch variations, materials G02B5/1809, G02B5/1828, G02B5/1833, G02B5/1838 and G02B5/1847 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/3025 Polarisers, i.e. arrangements capable of producing a definite output polarisation state from an unpolarised input state G02B5/3008, G02B5/3016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/3083 Birefringent or phase retarding elements G02B5/3008, G02B5/3016 take precedence; systems for polarisation control G02B27/286; manufacturing phase modulating patterns by lithographic processes G03F7/001
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13363 Birefringent elements, e.g. for optical compensation

Abstract

Films for optical use, articles containing such films, methods for making such films, and systems that utilize such films, are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing an article that includes a layer of a first material, wherein the layer of the first material includes at least one trench and wherein the layer is birefringent for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between 150 nm and 2,000 nm; and

filling at least about 50% of a volume of the trench by sequentially forming a plurality of monolayers of a second material within the trench.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the filling further comprises forming one or more monolayers of a third material within the trench, wherein the second and third materials are different.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the monolayers of the second and third materials form a nanolaminate material.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least about 80% of the volume of the trench is filled by sequentially forming the plurality of monolayers of the second material within the trench.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least about 90% of the volume of the trench is filled by sequentially forming the plurality of monolayers of the second material within the trench.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least about 99% of the volume of the trench is filled by sequentially forming the plurality of monolayers of the second material within the trench.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second material is different from the first material.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the layer of the first material and the second material form a continuous layer.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the article comprises additional trenches formed in the surface of the layer of the first material.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises filling at least about 50% of a volume of each of the additional trenches by sequentially forming a plurality of monolayers of the second material within the additional trenches.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises filling at least about 80% of a volume of each of the additional trenches by sequentially forming a plurality of monolayers of the second material within the additional trenches.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises filling at least about 90% of a volume of each of the additional trenches by sequentially forming a plurality of monolayers of the second material within the additional trenches.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises filling at least about 99% of a volume of each of the additional trenches by sequentially forming a plurality of monolayers of the second material within the additional trenches.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the trenches are separated by rows of the first material.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the layer of the first material forms a surface relief grating.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the surface relief grating has a grating period of about 500 nm or less.

17. The method of claim 7, wherein the trench is formed by etching a continuous layer of the first material.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the etching comprising reactive ion etching.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the trench is formed lithographically.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the trench is formed using nano-imprint lithography.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the nano-imprint lithography includes forming a pattern in a thermoplastic material.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the nano-imprint lithography includes forming a pattern in a UV curable material.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the trench is formed using holographic lithography.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a layer of the second material over the filled trench by sequentially forming monolayers of the second material over the trench.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the layer of the second material has a surface with an arithmetic mean roughness of about 50 nm or less.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the second material is a dielectric material.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the plurality of monolayers of the second material comprises depositing a monolayer of a precursor and exposing the monolayer of the precursor to a reagent to provide a monolayer of the second material.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the reagent chemically reacts with the precursor to form the second material.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the reagent oxidizes the precursor to form the second material.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein depositing the monolayer of the precursor comprises introducing a first gas comprising the precursor into a chamber housing the article.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein a pressure of the first gas in the chamber is about 0.01 to about 100 Torr while the monolayer of the precursor is deposited.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein exposing the monolayer of the precursor to the reagent comprises introducing a second gas comprising the reagent into the chamber.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein a pressure of the second gas in the chamber is about 0.01 to about 100 Torr while the monolayer of the precursor is exposed to the reagent.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein a third gas is introduced into the chamber after the first gas is introduced and prior to introducing the second gas.

35. The method of claim 27, wherein the third gas is inert with respect to the precursor.

36. The method of claim 27, wherein the third gas comprises at least one gas selected from the group consisting of helium, argon, nitrogen, neon, krypton, and xenon.

37. The method of claim 27, wherein the precursor is selected from the group consisting of tris(tert-butoxy)silanol, (CH₃)₃Al, TiCl₄, SiCl₄, SiH₂Cl₂, TaCl₃, AlCl₃, Hf-ethaoxide and Ta-ethaoxide.

38. The method of claim 1, wherein the trench has a width of about 1,000 nm or less.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein the trench has a depth of about 10 nm or more.

40. The method of claim 8, wherein the continuous layer is birefringent for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the continuous layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between 150 nm and 2,000 nm.

44. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a second birefringent layer on the layer of the first material after filling the trench.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the second birefringent layer comprises a plurality of trenches and forming the second birefringent layer includes filling the plurality of trenches by sequentially forming a plurality of monolayers of a third material within the trenches of the second birefringent layer.

46. The method of claim 44, further comprising forming additional birefringent layers on the second birefringent layer.

41. A method, comprising:

forming a layer of a material on a surface of a grating using atomic layer deposition.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the grating is a surface relief grating.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the grating has a grating period of about 2,000 nm or less.

47. A method, comprising:

forming an optical retardation film using atomic layer deposition.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the optical retardation film is form birefringent.

49. An article, comprising:

a continuous layer including rows of a first material alternating with rows of a nanolaminate material,

wherein the continuous layer is birefringent for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the continuous layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between 150 nm and 2,000 nm.

50. The article of claim 49, further comprising at least one antireflection film, wherein a surface of the article comprises a surface of the antireflection film.

51. The article of claim 49, further comprising a layer of a third material adjacent the continuous layer.

52. The article of claim 49, further comprising a layer of the nanolaminate material adjacent the continuous layer.

53. The article of claim 49, wherein the layer of the nanolaminate material adjacent the continuous layer has a surface with an arithmetic mean roughness of about 50 nm or less.

54. The method of claim 49, wherein the layer of the nanolaminate material adjacent the continuous layer has a surface with an arithmetic mean roughness of about 20 nm or less.

55. The method of claim 49, wherein the layer of the nanolaminate material adjacent the continuous layer has a surface with an arithmetic mean roughness of about 10 nm or less.

56. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material has a refractive index of about 1.3 or more at λ

.

57. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material has a refractive index of about 1.5 or more at λ

.

58. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material has a refractive index of about 1.6 or more at λ

.

59. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material has a refractive index of about 1.7 or more at λ

.

60. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material has a refractive index of about 1.8 or more at λ

.

61. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material has a refractive index of about 1.9 or more at λ

.

62. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material has a refractive index of about 2.0 or more at λ

.

63. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material comprises portions of a second material and portions of a third material, wherein the second and third materials are different.

64. The article of claim 63, wherein the first and third materials are the same.

65. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material comprises a dielectric material.

66. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material comprises an inorganic material.

67. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material comprises a metal.

68. The article of claim 49, wherein the nanolaminate material comprises a material selected from a group consisting of SiO₂, SiN_x, Si, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, Ta₂O₅, TiO₂, HfO₂, Nb₂O₅, and MgF₂.

69. The article of claim 49, wherein the first material is a dielectric material.

70. The article of claim 49, wherein the first material is an inorganic material.

71. The article of claim 49, wherein the first material is a polymer.

72. The article of claim 49, wherein the first material is a semiconductor.

73. The article of claim 49, wherein the first material is a metal.

74. The article of claim 49, wherein the first material is selected from a group consisting of SiO₂, SiN_x, Si, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, Ta₂O₅, TiO₂, HfO₂, Nb₂O₅, and MgF₂.

75. The article of claim 49, wherein the first material is a glass.

76. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer forms a grating with a grating period of about 500 nm or less.

77. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer forms a grating with a grating period of about 200 nm or less.

78. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer forms a grating with a grating period of about 100 nm or less.

79. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer forms a grating with a grating period of about 50 nm or less.

80. The article of claim 49, wherein the rows of the first material have a minimum width of about 500 nm or less.

81. The article of claim 49, wherein the rows of the first material have a minimum width of about 200 nm or less.

82. The article of claim 49, wherein the rows of the first material have a minimum width of about 100 nm or less.

83. The article of claim 49, wherein the rows of the first material have a minimum width of about 50 nm or less.

84. The article of claim 49, wherein the rows of the first material have a minimum width of about 20 nm or less.

85. The article of claim 49, wherein the rows of the first material have a minimum width of about 10 nm or less.

86. The article of claim 49, wherein the rows of the first material have a minimum width that is different than a minimum width of the rows of the nanolaminate material.

87. The article of claim 49, wherein the rows of the first material have a minimum width that is the same as a minimum width of the rows of the nanolaminate material.

88. The article of claim 49, wherein a minimum width of each of the rows of the first material is substantially the same.

89. The article of claim 49, wherein a minimum width of each of the rows of the nanolaminate material is substantially the same.

90. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has a thickness of about 15 nm or more.

91. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has a thickness of about 100 nm or more.

92. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has a thickness of about 200 nm or more.

93. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has a thickness of about 300 nm or more.

94. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has a thickness of about 500 nm or more.

95. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has a thickness of about 1,000 nm or more.

96. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has a thickness of about 1,500 nm or more.

97. The article of claim 49, wherein the layer has a thickness of about 2,000 nm or more.

98. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has an optical retardation of about 1 nm or more for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the continuous layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between 150 nm and 2,000 nm.

99. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has an optical retardation of about 2 nm or more for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the continuous layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between 150 nm and 2,000 nm.

100. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has an optical retardation of about 5 nm or more for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the continuous layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between 150 nm and 2,000 mm.

101. The article of claim 49, wherein the layer has an optical retardation of about 10 nm or more for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the composite layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between 150=n and 2,000 nm.

102. The article of claim 49, wherein the layer has an optical retardation of about 20 nm or more for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the composite layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between about 150 nm and about 2,000 nm.

103. The article of claim 49, wherein the layer has an optical retardation of about 50 nm or more for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the composite layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between about 150 nm and about 2,000 nm.

104. The article of claim 49, wherein the layer has an optical retardation of about 2,000 nm or less for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the composite layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between about 150 nm and about 2,000 nm.

105. The article of claim 49, wherein the layer has an optical retardation of about 1,000 nm or less for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the composite layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between about 150 nm and about 2,000 mm.

106. The article of claim 49, wherein λ

is between about 400 nm and about 700 nm.

107. The article of claim 49, wherein λ

is between about 510 nm and about 570 mm.

108. The article of claim 49, wherein the continuous layer has an optical retardation of about 4 nm or more for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the continuous layer along an axis, wherein λ

is between about 400 nm and about 700 nm.

109. The article of claim 49, further comprising a second continuous layer including rows of a third material alternating with rows of a second nanolaminate material,

wherein the second continuous layer is birefringent for light of wavelength λ

propagating through the second continuous layer along the axis.

110. The article of claim 109, further comprising additional form birefringent layers, wherein each of the form birefringent layers are birefringent for light of wavelength λ

propagating through each form birefringent layer along the axis.

111. An article, comprising:

a form birefringent optical retardation film comprising a nanolaminate material.