SBIR Phase II: Chalcogenide Polymer Infrared Optics

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响和商业潜力是改进近红外3D成像中使用的光学和镜头。玻璃透镜具有优异的透光性和热性能，用于光探测和测距（激光雷达）以及距离超过几十米的测距仪。聚合物透镜可成型且成本较低，通常用于消费者移动3D相机和新兴的汽车激光雷达系统。这些透镜的折射率限制了数值孔径，并且需要比期望的透镜筒更长。所提出的聚合物硫系透镜将红外透过率、折射率和热性能与光学聚合物的成本和可塑性结合起来。这一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枪管长度。这些特性使更紧凑、更轻、成本更低的3D成像仪成为可能。有了这些优势，测距仪可以更容易携带，扫描速度更快，智能手机相机可以有更宽的视角。此外，激光雷达系统可以更准确地成像车辆周围，提高驾驶员和行人的安全。这个小型企业创新研究二期项目旨在推进硫聚合物化学和材料加工，以开发一种新型近红外（NIR）光学元件。创新的化学合成和红外指纹工程导致了一类具有近红外成像应用潜力的新型光学聚合物的发展。由于广泛的光学和机械特性，包括确定全红外光谱上的光学常数，测量热膨胀系数等机械性能，测量热光学系数，以及确定应力光学系数，这些材料现在将被开发和集成到基于材料独特性能集的创新光学设计的产品应用中。自由曲面光学设计概念将被使用，迄今为止，还没有经常用于红外成像。这种设计可能会导致更紧凑，更轻，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光谱优势，结合吸收，体散射和表面散射，以及表面散射的贡献。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 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.