Fabrication of high efficiency, high quality, large area diffractive waveplates and arrays
First Claim
1. An apparatus for non-holographically producing spatially continuous orientation modulation of an anisotropy axis of a photoresponsive material layer, comprising:
- (a) a device configured to output a polarized coherent light beam having a wavelength in a UV-visible part of spectrum;
(b) a diffractive waveplate polarization converter transforming polarization of said light beam into a linear polarization state with a spatially continuous modulation pattern to provide a continually modulated polarization suitable for printing diffractive waveplate structure with high spatial resolution with smallest modulation feature sizes that would be comparable to or longer than the wavelength of the polarized coherent light beam;
(c) a photoresponsive material having thickness as a small fraction of wavelength of said light beam, an absorption spectrum comprising at least part of UV-visible wavelengths and an anisotropy axis formed or aligned according to polarization of said light beam;
(d) said photoresponsive material layer deposited on a substrate for exposure of at least a portion of said photoresponsive material layer to said light beam at the output of said diffractive waveplate polarization converter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for fabricating high quality one- or two-dimensional diffractive waveplates and arrays that exhibit high diffraction efficiency and capable of inexpensive large volume production. A generally non-holographic and aperiodic polarization converter for converting the polarization of a coherent input light beam of a visible wavelength into a pattern of continuous spatial modulation at the output of the polarization converter. A photoresponsive material characterized by an anisotropy axis according to polarization of the light beam is exposed to a polarization modulation pattern and coated subsequently with an anisotropic material overlayer with ability of producing an optical axis orientation according to and under the influence of the anisotropy axis of the photoresponsive material layer. The diffractive waveplates are obtained when exposure time of photoresponsive material layer exceeds an order of magnitude the time period that is known to produce spatially homogeneous orientation of the anisotropic overlayer.
134 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for non-holographically producing spatially continuous orientation modulation of an anisotropy axis of a photoresponsive material layer, comprising:
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(a) a device configured to output a polarized coherent light beam having a wavelength in a UV-visible part of spectrum; (b) a diffractive waveplate polarization converter transforming polarization of said light beam into a linear polarization state with a spatially continuous modulation pattern to provide a continually modulated polarization suitable for printing diffractive waveplate structure with high spatial resolution with smallest modulation feature sizes that would be comparable to or longer than the wavelength of the polarized coherent light beam; (c) a photoresponsive material having thickness as a small fraction of wavelength of said light beam, an absorption spectrum comprising at least part of UV-visible wavelengths and an anisotropy axis formed or aligned according to polarization of said light beam; (d) said photoresponsive material layer deposited on a substrate for exposure of at least a portion of said photoresponsive material layer to said light beam at the output of said diffractive waveplate polarization converter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for non-holographically producing spatially continuous orientation modulation of an anisotropy axis of a photoresponsive material layer, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) a device configured to output a linearly polarized coherent light beam having a wavelength in UV-visible part of electromagnetic spectrum; (b) a diffractive wave plate polarization converter continuously modulating the polarization of said light beam along at least a single axis to provide a continually modulated polarization suitable for printing diffractive waveplate structure with high spatial resolution pattern with smallest features that would be comparable to or longer than the wavelength of said linearly polarized coherent light beam not achievable in pixilated systems; (c) a photoresponsive material having thickness as a small fraction of wavelength of said light beam, having an absorption spectrum comprising at least part of visible wavelengths, and an anisotropy axis that is formed or aligned according to polarization of said light beam; (d) depositing said layer of photoresponsive material onto a substrate for holding and positioning a layer of said photoresponsive material; (e) positioning and projecting said polarization modulation pattern of said light beam onto a part of the area of said photoresponsive material layer; (f) exposing different areas of said photoresponsive material layer to said polarization modulation pattern while maintaining continuity of the pattern projected on said photoresponsive material layer. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A method for non-holographically producing spatially continuous orientation modulation of an anisotropy axis of a photoresponsive material layer at a predetermined spatial period, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) producing a linear polarized coherent light beam to provide a continually modulated polarization suitable for printing diffractive waveplate structure with high spatial resolution with smallest features comparable to or longer than the wavelength of said linear polarized coherent light beam; (b) propagating said light beam through a diffractive waveplate, the diffractive waveplate having optical axis modulation period twice larger compared to said predetermined spatial period; and (c) exposing a photoresponsive material layer to said light beam propagated through said diffractive waveplate, the photoresponsive material having the ability of producing an anisotropy axis modulated according to the polarization of said light beam. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification