Optical elements having gradient optical properties
AssigneeMomentum Optics LLC
InventorJeremy Goeckeritz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for creating gradient optical properties within a substrate is disclosed herein. More specifically, the present invention teaches a method whereby a material disposed on a substrate is patterned in three dimensions such that the thickness and diffusivity properties of the material can be used to regulate the diffusion of ions into the substrate. An example is given in which ions, injected into a substrate through an ion exchange process, alter the refractive index within the substrate in a pre-selected fashion to form a gradient refractive index lens.
Claims23
A method for constructing optical elements with gradient optical properties within at least a portion of a substrate, wherein the substrate has a top and bottom surface, the method comprising:
- providing a substrate having a material on the top surface thereof and a film on the bottom surface thereof, the material having a diffusivity lower than the diffusivity of the substrate, the film forming an ion diffusion preventing mask;
- forming a surface relief pattern of variable thickness in the material;
- and
- diffusing ions into the top surface of the substrate using the patterned material as a semi-permeable mask, the distribution of the diffused ions into the substrate being moderated by the duration of the diffusion process, the thickness of the material, and diffusivity properties of the material.
A method for constructing optical elements with gradient optical properties within at least a portion of a substrate, wherein the substrate has a top and bottom surface, the method comprising:
- providing a substrate having a first material on the top surface thereof and a second material on the bottom surface thereof, the first and second materials each having a diffusivity lower than the diffusivity of the substrate;
- forming an alignment mark and first surface relief pattern of variable thickness in the first material;
- forming a second surface relief pattern of variable thickness in the second material using the alignment mark within the first material to position the second surface relief pattern relative to the first surface relief pattern;
- and
- diffusing ions into the top and bottom surfaces of the substrate using the patterned first and second materials respectively as semi-permeable masks, the distribution of ions diffused into the substrate being moderated by the duration of the diffusion process, the thickness of the first and second materials, and diffusivity properties of the first and second materials.
An article comprising a substrate having a top material patterned with a surface relief pattern, a bottom ion preventing film on the bottom surface of the substrate and diffused ions in the top surface of the substrate, the diffused ions having an ion concentration profile that varies in at least two dimension.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.