SBIR Phase II: Ultraviolet-Polarizing Chiral Film

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目旨在开发和商业化具有前所未有的性能的高耐用性紫外线偏振器光学器件。 穿透偏振器由取向的双折射薄膜层的堆叠制成，所述双折射薄膜层通过以倾斜角度真空沉积获得。 膜材料本身是光学各向同性的，但是双折射由膜堆叠中的层的纳米结构引起。 薄膜可以由单一材料构成，从而减轻了对材料透明度的传统限制，并实现了更宽的工作波长范围。例如，使用LiF作为薄膜材料可以将工作范围扩展到110 nm。 使用碳化硅或碳化硼等材料，远紫外线和极紫外线似乎是可能的。 因此，沉积技术提供了一个令人兴奋的机会，工程师独特的薄膜性能。 在第二阶段，研究人员建议扩大紫外手性薄膜偏振器和设计，制造（使用定制的沉积系统）的薄膜材料的数据库，并表征紫外手性薄膜偏振器的实际应用。 然后，研究人员将开发高速沉积技术，以确保偏振器的低成本。 商业化活动将在第三阶段加速。无机UV偏振器膜可具有优于常规偏振器组件的若干优点，并且成为许多重要工业制造过程中的关键装置，包括用于化学合成、药物开发和用于LCD的液晶对准的系统。

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.