Laser Written Liquid Crystal Devices for AR and VR Technology

用于 AR 和 VR 技术的激光写入液晶器件

• 批准号: 2595750
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Oxford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2595750
• 关键词: Laser; Written; Liquid; Crystal; Devices

The aim of this project is to develop novel optical technology for Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (VR/AR) applications by precisely machining polymer structures into liquid crystal (LC) devices. Two Photon Polymerisation Direct Laser Writing (2PP-DLW) is a laser processing technique that can be used to manufacture 3D structures in polymerizable resins at the micro/nanoscale. Traditionally, 2PP-DLW produces isotropic polymer structures where the properties of the material are dictated by the geometry of the structure. Instead, in this work a polymerizable liquid crystalline mixture will be used because the orientation of the LC molecules can be controlled by applying external electric fields, which can then be locked-in using the 2PP-DLW process. The laser writing technique will be used in this project to develop switchable optical devices such as diffractive elements. In VR/AR headsets, for example, diffraction gratings can be used to project images onto the eye. Switchable diffractive elements will allow small sections of the projected image to be turned on and off. This will improve the quality and tunability of the projected images, with a minimal effect on weight. This advancement is desired by industry leaders as it is a small, lightweight means of improving projection systems. Aberrations present a problem when performing the laser writing process in an LC device. Due to the refractive index mismatch between different layers of the device, the wavefront of the fabrication beam can become distorted, which changes the shape of the focal volume. In general, fabrication is limited to LC materials without any top substrates. However, this project will use spatial light modulator technology to fabricate intricate structures within LC devices thus enabling higher precision. This project falls under the EPSRC's Engineering and Manufacturing the Future themes, and most closely aligns with the Photonic Materials, Light Matter Interaction and Optical Phenomena, Optoelectronic Devices and Circuits, and Optical Devices and Subsystems subthemes. The work will be undertaken with the support of Merck.

该项目的目的是通过将聚合物结构精确加工成液晶（LC）器件，开发用于增强现实和虚拟现实（VR/AR）应用的新型光学技术。双光子聚合直接激光书写（2PP-DLW）是一种激光加工技术，可用于在微/纳米尺度上制造可聚合树脂的3D结构。传统上，2PP-DLW生产各向同性聚合物结构，其中材料的性能由结构的几何形状决定。相反，在这项工作中，将使用可聚合的液晶混合物，因为LC分子的取向可以通过施加外电场来控制，然后可以使用2PP-DLW工艺锁定。该项目将使用激光书写技术来开发可切换的光学器件，如衍射元件。例如，在VR/AR头显中，衍射光栅可用于将图像投射到眼睛上。可切换的衍射元件将允许投影图像的一小部分被打开和关闭。这将提高投影图像的质量和可调性，对权重的影响最小。这一进步是行业领导者所希望的，因为它是一种小而轻的改进投影系统的手段。在LC设备中执行激光写入过程时，像差是一个问题。由于器件不同层之间的折射率不匹配，制造光束的波前会发生畸变，从而改变焦体的形状。一般来说，制造仅限于没有任何顶部衬底的LC材料。然而，该项目将使用空间光调制器技术在LC设备中制造复杂的结构，从而实现更高的精度。该项目属于EPSRC的“工程和制造未来”主题，与光子材料、光物质相互作用和光学现象、光电器件和电路以及光学器件和子系统子主题最密切相关。这项工作将在默克公司的支持下进行。