PFI-RP: Additive Manufacturing for Scalable Metalens Fabrication

这一创新-研究伙伴关系(PFI-RP)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是使用创新的、具有成本效益的方法设计和制造高性能金属透镜，这将使原本无法以可扩展方式制造的卓越产品成为可能。金属透镜(或平板透镜)是一种超薄的平面透镜，它使用表面图案的纳米特征来有效地控制光线。从而消除了传统玻璃和塑料透镜的体积，同时以更轻和更小的体积提供了更多的用途和功能。透镜的小型化和宽视场的引入以及对失真和色差的校正，都可以通过金属透镜来实现，在消费产品、医疗、国防和航天应用方面具有巨大的经济潜力。技术插入点包括手机摄像头、增强现实/虚拟现实(AR/VR)、平视显示器、医疗和科学成像、精密光学和高分辨率成像卫星，相关市场超过1000亿美元。PFI RP团队致力于解决供应链和技术链的关键要素，使具有重大社会影响的新兴技术在国内实现商业化。拟议的项目是一种新颖但可实现的添加剂制造方法，适用于所有无机、氧化钛金属透镜，涉及使用基于晶体纳米颗粒的墨水的纳米压印光刻的变体。通过实现镜片的直接“打印”，添加过程保持不变。这项拟议的技术与目前基于为半导体行业开发的技术和工艺的全无机可见金属片的多步骤减法制造形成了鲜明对比。该团队独特的材料和工艺开发实现了快速的周期时间、可调的折射率(高达2.1)和高纵横比特性，可实现高效的全无机平板透镜。采用最先进和创新的透镜设计和模拟，以充分利用这些独特而灵活的制造能力，并提供卓越的透镜性能，样机测试证实了这一点。制造方面的关键创新包括开发稳定的纳米颗粒油墨，一种独特的脉冲紫外光固化方法，它提供强烈但局部的加热来快速稳定印迹结构并去除有机物，而不会增加体积温度，以及进一步提高折射率的制造后处理。虽然具有创新性，但该过程是可扩展的，并将使用商业上接受的溶剂和工艺流程在全尺寸制造工具上进行演示。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已通过使用基金会的智力优势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 Partnerships for Innovation – Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) project is the design and fabrication of high performance metalenses using an innovative, cost-effective approach that will enable a superior product that cannot otherwise be manufactured in a scalable manner. Metalenses (or flat lenses) are ultrathin planar lenses that use nanofeatures patterned on the surface to efficiently control light. thereby eliminating the bulkiness of traditional glass and plastic lenses while providing more utility and function in a substantially lighter and smaller volume. Lens miniaturization and the introduction of wide fields of view and corrections for distortion and color aberration, all possible with metalenses, have enormous economic potential for consumer products, medical, defense, and space applications. Technology insertion points include cell phone cameras, augmented reality / virtual reality (AR/VR), heads-up displays, medical and scientific imaging, precision optics, and high-resolution imaging satellites, with associated markets exceeding $100 billion. The PFI RP team addresses the critical elements of the supply and technology chains enabling domestic commercialization of an emerging technology with substantial societal impact. The proposed project is a novel but achievable additive manufacturing approach for all inorganic, titanium oxide metalenses that involves a variation of nanoimprint lithography using crystalline nanoparticle-based inks. By enabling direct “printing” of the lenses, the additive process stands. The proposed technology is in contrast to current multi-step subtractive fabrications of all-inorganic visible metalenses that are based on technologies and processes developed for the semiconductor industry. The team’s unique materials and process developments enable rapid cycle times, tunable refractive index (up to 2.1), and high aspect ratio features for highly efficient, all-inorganic flat lenses. State-of-the-art and innovative lens design and simulation are applied to take advantage of these unique and flexible fabrication capabilities and deliver outstanding lens performance, as confirmed by prototype testing. Key innovations in fabrication include developing stable nanoparticle inks, a unique pulsed UV light cure approach that provides intense but localized heating to rapidly stabilize the imprinted structures and remove organics without increasing bulk temperatures, and post-manufacturing treatments that further enhance the refractive index. While innovative, the process is scalable and will be demonstrated on full-scale manufacturing tools using commercially accepted solvents and process flows.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.