I-Corps: Materials and methods for manufacturing engineered optics for augmented and virtual reality applications

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The broader impact and commercial potential of this I-Corps project are based on the development of inorganic inks for fabrication of augmented and virtual reality (AVR) devices. The inks are UV curable and methods include manufacturing visibly transparent, high-index engineered optics. Inorganic films offer higher transparency and refractive indexes compared with current organic materials sets. Such an inorganic solution is crucial to advance augmented and virtual reality (AVR) markets, as end users are continually striving to lower manufacturing costs and improve product form factors. The proposed inks are projected to improve device performance by enabling fabrication of high refractive index engineered optics. These optics are required to improve the form factor of wearable devices and to grow the AVR market.This I-Corps project is based on the discovery and development of inorganic inks that are imprinted to produce high-index optical gratings. Such a fabrication method is crucial, as the AVR market is developing a new generation of low-profile devices that require high-index transparent films. Current technologies are based on organic polymers that suffer from low transparency and small refractive indexes. Success has been demonstrated creating high-index, UV-curable engineered optical structures with high transparency and compatibility with current manufacturing technologies. The proposed technology may provide AVR manufacturers with cost effective methods to fabricate high refractive index transparent photonic devices that would otherwise be impossible or cost prohibitive to manufacture by methods currently available.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.