Durable, inorganic, absorptive, ultra-violet, grid polarizer
AssigneeMoxtek, Inc.
InventorsEric Gardner, Bin Wang, Mark Davis, John D. Dredge, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An inorganic, dielectric grid polarizer device includes a stack of film layers disposed over a substrate. Each film layer is formed of a material that is both inorganic and dielectric. Adjacent film layers each have different refractive indices. At least one of the film layers is discontinuous to form a form-birefringent layer with an array of parallel ribs having a period less than 400 nm. Another layer, different than the form-birefringent layer, is formed of an optically absorptive material for the ultra-violet spectrum.
Claims19
An absorptive, ultra-violet, inorganic, and dielectric grid polarizer device, the device comprising:
- a) a substrate;
- b) an absorptive layer disposed over the substrate including an optically absorptive material to an ultra-violet spectrum;
- c) the absorptive layer being formed of a material that is both inorganic and dielectric;
- d) the absorptive layer having a different refractive index than a refractive index of the substrate;
- e) the absorptive layer being discontinuous to form a form-birefringent layer with an array of parallel ribs having a period less than 400 nm
- f) a transmissive layer disposed over the substrate, the transmissive layer:
- i) being formed of a material that is both inorganic and dielectric;
- ii) being formed of a material that is optically non-absorptive to the ultra-violet spectrum;
- iii) having a different refractive index than the refractive index of the absorptive layer;
- and
- iv) being discontinuous to form a form-birefringent layer with an array of parallel ribs, the ribs of the transmissive layer:
- 1) have a period less than 400 nm;
- and
- 2) are substantially aligned with ribs of the absorptive layer.
An absorptive, ultra-violet, inorganic and dielectric grid polarizer device, comprising:
- a) a substrate;
- b) a stack of at least two layers disposed over the substrate including an absorptive layer and a transmissive layer;
- c) each layer of the stack being formed of a material that is both inorganic and dielectric;
- d) adjacent layers of the stack having different refractive indices;
- e) all of the layers of the stack being discontinuous to form form-birefringent layers with an array of parallel ribs having a period less than approximately 400 nm, the period and the different refractive indices causing the stack to substantially polarize an incident ultra-violet beam into two orthogonal polarization orientations and transmitting or reflecting one of the polarization orientations;
- f) the absorptive layer being formed of an optically absorptive material for an ultra-violet spectrum to substantially absorb another of the polarization orientations;
- g) the transmissive layer is disposed between the absorptive layer and the substrate;
- h) the transmissive layer is formed of an optically transmissive, non-absorptive material to the ultra-violet spectrum;
- and
- i) ribs of the transmissive layer are formed integrally with the substrate and comprise ribs in the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.