PFI-RP: Additive Manufacturing for Scalable Metalens Fabrication

该创新-研究合作伙伴关系（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超透镜，该方法将实现无法以可扩展方式制造的上级产品。 超透镜（或平面透镜）是使用在表面上图案化的纳米特征来有效地控制光的平面透镜。从而消除了传统玻璃和塑料透镜的笨重性，同时以显著更轻和更小的体积提供更多的实用性和功能。透镜小型化和宽视场的引入以及畸变和色差的校正，所有这些都可能通过超透镜实现，对于消费产品、医疗、国防和空间应用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）、抬头显示器、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团队解决供应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商业化。拟议的项目是一种新颖但可实现的增材制造方法，适用于所有无机氧化钛超透镜，涉及使用基于结晶纳米颗粒的油墨的纳米压印光刻的变化。通过实现镜片的直接“印刷”，增材工艺得以维持。 所提出的技术与目前基于为半导体工业开发的技术和工艺的全无机可见超透镜的多步减材制造形成对比。 该团队独特的材料和工艺开发使快速循环时间，可调折射率（高达2.1）和高纵横比功能成为高效，全无机平面透镜。最先进的创新透镜设计和模拟应用于利用这些独特和灵活的制造能力，并提供出色的透镜性能，通过原型测试确认。制造中的关键创新包括开发稳定的纳米颗粒油墨，独特的脉冲紫外光固化方法，提供强烈但局部的加热，以快速稳定压印结构并去除有机物，而不增加整体温度，以及进一步提高折射率的制造后处理。虽然创新，该过程是可扩展的，并将在全尺寸的制造工具上使用商业上接受的溶剂和工艺流程进行演示。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.