STTR Phase II: 3D Lithography of Thick Photopolymers for Imaging and Photonic Crystal Waveguides

这项小型企业技术转让（STTR）第二阶段项目将以一种新型的3D光刻技术达到高潮，这种技术能够制造成像阵列和光子晶体波导，这些光刻技术更便宜、性能更高、更轻、更灵活，并且具有目前现有技术无法实现的功能。叠牌和抽签？制造业。例如，通过在微米尺度上直接制造这些部件，可以在单个工艺步骤中创建全局缩放（实现放大阵列），全局旋转（实现图像逆变器）或局部缩放（实现模态锥体或集成透镜）等扰动。不像目前的方法，必须从预成型中抽出至少公里，这里的单个零件可以是厘米长的。该成像阵列具有重要的商业潜力，可替代当前的内窥镜、光纤面板和图像逆变器。它们还开辟了新的市场，包括用于临床和公共安全应用的廉价眼睛监测，用于瘫痪患者的人机界面的可穿戴式目光跟踪，以及用于军事和消费娱乐的超轻型抬头显示器。该团队将开发光刻技术和材料，以制造这些全聚合物成像电缆。光学图像的传输和处理无处不在，但几乎都是用精致的刚性透镜来实现的。像光纤束这样的离散成像设备对于现代数字显示器和相机来说已经足够了，而且很坚固，但目前受到成本和性能的限制。通过实现灵活、轻量级的离散图像传输，结果将影响？教育、医学和生物学研究以及黄斑变性。第一期包括补充拨款资助了7名研究生、1名博士后和2名本科生。与爱尔兰都柏林的研究生交流扩大了这一影响。光刻系统已用于多个本科班级项目和多个跨学科研究生研究项目。高分辨率、小直径和大视场的一次性内窥镜以更低的成本超越了目前的能力。Zenwa与Smith-Kettlewell眼科研究所签署了一项合作协议，开发一种轻型定制图像传输系统，以恢复严重视力受损的视力。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will culminate in a new form of 3D lithography capable of fabricating imaging arrays and photonic-crystal waveguides that are cheaper, higher performance, lighter, more flexible and have capabilities not currently possible with current ?stack and draw? manufacturing. For example, by directly fabricating these parts at the micron scale, perturbations such as global scaling (to implement magnifying arrays), global rotation (to implement image inverters) or local scaling (to implement modal tapers or integrated lenslets) can be created in a single process step. Unlike current methods which must draw out a minimum of km from a preform, here single parts can be cm in length. The imaging arrays have significant commercial potential as replacements for current endoscopes, fiber face plates and image inverters. They also enable new markets including inexpensive eye monitoring for clinical and public safety applications, wearable gaze-tracking for human-computer interface for paralysis victims, and ultra lightweight heads-up displays for military and consumer entertainment. The team will develop both the lithography and materials to create these all-polymer imaging cables. The transport and manipulation of optical images is ubiquitous but nearly uniformly implemented with delicate, rigid lens trains. Discrete imaging devices such as fiber bundles are sufficient for modern digital displays and cameras and are naturally robust, but currently limited by cost and capability. By enabling flexible, lightweight transport of discrete images, the results will impact ? Education, Medical and Biological Research and Macular Degeneration. The Phase I including supplementary funding has partially funded 7graduate, 1 post-doc and two undergraduate students. An exchange of graduate students with Dublin Ireland extended this impact. The lithography system has been used in multiple undergraduate class projects and for multiple cross-disciplinary graduate research programs. Disposable endoscopes with high resolution, small diameter and large field of view exceed current capabilities at much lower costs. Zenwa has signed a collaborative agreement with the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute to develop a lightweight customized image delivery system to restore sight to the severely vision impaired.