SBIR Phase II: Chalcogenide Polymer Infrared Optics

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响和商业潜力是改进近红外3D成像所使用的光学和透镜。玻璃透镜具有优异的透过率和热性能，用于光检测和测距(LiDAR)和几十米以外的距离测距。聚合物透镜是可成型的，成本较低，通常用于消费类移动3D相机和新兴的汽车LiDAR系统。这些透镜的折射率限制了数值光圈，并且需要比预期更长的镜筒。建议的聚合物硫化物透镜将红外透过率、折射率和热性能与光学聚合物的成本和可成型性结合在一起。这项创新使自由形状聚合物透镜的成型具有更大的数值孔径和更短的镜筒长度。这些特性使3D成像器变得更紧凑、更轻、成本更低。有了这些优势，测距仪可以更容易携带，扫描速度更快，智能手机摄像头可以有更宽的视角。此外，LiDAR系统可以更准确地对车辆周围进行成像，并提高驾驶员和行人的安全性。这个小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目旨在促进硫磺聚合物化学和材料加工，以开发新型近红外(NIR)光学元件。创新的化学合成和红外指纹工程导致了一类新的光学聚合物的开发，这些聚合物具有在近红外成像中的潜在应用。由于广泛的光学和机械表征，包括确定全红外光谱上的光学常数、热膨胀系数等机械性能的测量、热光系数的测量和应力光学系数的确定，这些材料现在将被开发和集成，用于产品应用，并基于材料的独特属性集进行创新的光学设计。自由形式的光学设计概念将被使用，到目前为止，这些概念并不经常用于红外成像。这样的设计可能会带来更紧凑、更轻和更高性能的红外成像应用光学系统，进一步利用材料的透射谱优势，包括吸收、体散射和表面散射以及表面散射贡献。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并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 and commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to improve the optics and lenses used in near infrared 3D imaging. Glass lenses, which have excellent transmittance and thermal properties, are used in light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and rangefinders for distances beyond a few tens of meters. Polymer lenses, which are moldable and lower cost, are typically used in consumer-mobile 3D cameras and emerging automotive LiDAR systems. The refractive indices of these lenses limit the numerical aperture and require longer-than-desired lens barrels. The proposed polymeric chalcogenide lenses combine infrared transmittance, index, and thermal properties with the cost and moldability of optical polymers. The innovation enables the molding of freeform polymer lenses with increased numerical aperture and reduced barrel lengths. These properties make possible more compact, lighter, and lower cost 3D imagers. With these advantages, rangefinders can be more easily carried and scan faster and smartphone cameras can have wider viewing angles. Additionally, LiDAR systems can image more accurately around a vehicle and improve both driver and pedestrian safety.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project seeks to advance sulfur polymer chemistry and materials processing for the development of a new class of near infrared (NIR) optical components. Innovative chemical synthesis and infrared fingerprint engineering has led to the development of a new class of optical polymers with the potential for imaging applications in the NIR. As a result of extensive optical and mechanical characterization, including the determination of the optical constants over the full infrared spectrum, measurement of mechanical properties such as the coefficient of thermal expansion, measurement of thermo-optic coefficients, and determination of stress-optic coefficients, the materials will now be developed and integrated for product applications with innovative optical designs based on material's unique property set. Freeform optical design concepts will be used which, to date, have not often been used in infrared imaging. Such designs may lead to more compact, lighter, and higher performance optical systems for infrared imaging applications, further leveraging the advantages of the material's transmission spectrum, incorporating absorption, bulk scattering and surface scattering, and surface scattering contributions.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.