SBIR Phase I: Thermal Drawing of Hybrid Organic-InorganicMulti-Material Dielectric Filters

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是提供高性能的光过滤，其水平可能影响到世界上所有的人。廉价的高性能滤光片通过将荧光显微镜和传感等最高精度技术引入便携式消费者诊断设备，从而可以早期检测癌症和感染。他们还为自动驾驶汽车和未来的其他智能设备制造传感器，通过消除环境中不需要的光噪声，只聚焦于光的目标频率，从而更准确地探测周围环境中的物体。未来移动设备的电池寿命也可能延长20%，这是由于低成本、大规模光学滤光器可以实现更高效的显示单元光能管理。预计大批量生产的低制造成本将使更多的高科技制造业就业机会留在美国。该项目将确定采用新型多材料、微纳米层状薄膜生产工艺生产可见光和近红外薄膜滤光片的技术可行性。这种过滤器的传统沉积生产技术的时间和成本要求是市场增长和商业接受其广泛用途的重大障碍。为了解决这一市场缺口，该项目将研究使用新型热拉伸工艺一致生产有机/无机混合材料过滤器所需的元素。本研究将涵盖热拉伸过程中有机-无机混合材料的整合和处理方法，以及了解和控制界面上的流体不稳定性，以获得过滤器的均匀性和完整性。拟议的研究结果将确定新的热拉伸工艺，与开发的材料和处理技术相结合，是否可以可靠地大规模生产高性能的可见光和近红外滤光片。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide high-performance light filtering at a level that potentially affects all people in the world. Inexpensive high-performance light filters allow for early detection of cancer and infection by bringing the highest-precision technologies such as fluorescence microscopy and sensing to portable, consumer diagnostic devices. They also make sensors in self-driving cars and other intelligent devices of the future to detect objects in the surroundings more accurately by eliminating the undesired light noise from the ambient and focusing on the target frequencies of light only. Batteries of future mobile devices may also last up to 20% longer due to more efficient light energy management in display units that become possible with low-cost, large-scale optical filters.?Finally,?the anticipated lower manufacturing cost at high volume will allow for more high-tech manufacturing jobs to remain in the US.The proposed project will establish the technical feasibility of using a novel multi-material, micro- and nano-layered film production process in order to produce visible and near-infrared thin-film optical filters. The time and cost requirements of conventional, deposition-based production techniques of such filters are a significant barrier to market growth and commercial acceptance of their broad range of uses. In order to address this market gap, this project will investigate the elements necessary for consistent production of filters made of hybrid organic/inorganic materials using the novel process of thermal drawing. This investigation will cover methods of integration and handling of hybrid organic-inorganic materials in the thermal drawing process as well as understanding and controlling fluidic instabilities at interfaces to obtain filter uniformity and integrity. The results of the proposed research will determine whether the novel thermal drawing process, in conjunction with developed materials and handling techniques, can reliably generate high-performance visible and near infrared filters at scale.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.