SBIR Phase II: Ultraviolet-Polarizing Chiral Film

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This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is designed to develop and commercialize high-durability UV polarizer optics with unprecedented performance. The breakthrough polarizers are made from stacks of oriented, birefringent thin film layers, which are obtained by vacuum deposition at an oblique angle. The film material itself is optically isotropic, but the birefringence arises from the nanostructure of the layers in the film stack. Films can be constructed from a single material, relieving the conventional constraints on material transparency and enabling a wider operating wavelength range. Using LiF as the film material, for example, could extend the operating range down to 110 nm. Extension to the far UV and extreme UV appears possible with materials such as silicon carbide or boron carbide. The deposition technique thus offers an exciting opportunity to engineer unique film properties. In Phase II, the investigator proposes to enlarge the database of film materials for UV chiral film polarizers and design, fabricate (using a customized deposition system), and characterize UV chiral film polarizers for practical applications. The investigator will then develop high-speed deposition techniques to ensure the polarizers are low-cost. Commercialization activities will accelerate in Phase III. The inorganic UV polarizer films may have several advantages over conventional polarizer components, and become key devices in many important industrial manufacturing processes, including systems for chemical synthesis, drug development, and liquid crystal alignment for LCDs.