Reflective polarizers containing polymer fibers
First Claim
1. An optical body, comprising:
- a polymer matrix; and
a plurality of polymer fibers disposed within the polymer matrix, wherein at least one of the polymer fibers comprises multiple birefringent interfaces for reflecting light, the birefringent interfaces being formed between a first polymer material and a second polymer material, at least one of the first and second polymer materials being birefringent, the birefringent interfaces being internal to the at least one of the polymer fibers and are elongated along an axis of the at least one polymer fiber, the polymer fibers being oriented substantially parallel to a first axis, a refractive index difference at the birefringent interfaces for light polarized parallel to the first axis being different from a refractive index difference at the birefringent interfaces for light polarized parallel to a second axis, the second axis being orthogonal to the first axis.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A polarizer is formed with an arrangement of polymer fibers substantially parallel within a polymer matrix. The polymer fibers are formed of at least first and second polymer materials. At least one of the polymer matrix and the first and second polymer materials is birefringent, and provides a birefringent interface with the adjacent material. Light is reflected and/or scattered at the birefringent interfaces with sensitivity to the polarization of the light. In some embodiments, the polymer fibers are formed as composite fibers, having a plurality of scattering polymer fibers disposed within a filler to form the composite fiber. In other embodiments, the polymer fiber is a multilayered polymer fiber. The polymer fibers may be arranged within the polymer matrix as part of a fiber weave.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. An optical body, comprising:
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a polymer matrix; and a plurality of polymer fibers disposed within the polymer matrix, wherein at least one of the polymer fibers comprises multiple birefringent interfaces for reflecting light, the birefringent interfaces being formed between a first polymer material and a second polymer material, at least one of the first and second polymer materials being birefringent, the birefringent interfaces being internal to the at least one of the polymer fibers and are elongated along an axis of the at least one polymer fiber, the polymer fibers being oriented substantially parallel to a first axis, a refractive index difference at the birefringent interfaces for light polarized parallel to the first axis being different from a refractive index difference at the birefringent interfaces for light polarized parallel to a second axis, the second axis being orthogonal to the first axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. An optical body, comprising:
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an optical material having a first refractive index, nx, along a first axis and a second refractive index, ny, along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis; and elongated polymer fibers disposed within the optical material parallel to the first axis, the polymer fibers comprising a first birefringent material elongated along the first axis and having a refractive index, n1x, along the first axis and a refractive index n1y along the second axis, where n1x is different from n1y, the elongated polymer fibers comprising a second material elongated along the first axis and having a refractive index n2x along the first axis and a refractive index n2y along the second axis, the optical body scattering incident light polarized along the first axis differently than incident light polarized along the second axis. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification