SBIR Phase I: Substrate-Guided Holographic Diffuser As Efficient Backlighting Solution For LCDs And LED-Lighting Applications

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在设计和制造一种用于液晶显示器（LCD）背光和发光二极管（LED）照明的新型基板引导全息漫射器（SGHD）。我们迫切需要降低背光lcd的功耗，同时让消费者更能负担得起。寻找新技术和新材料，既能大幅减少LCD背光中光学元件的数量，又能提高它们的效率和亮度，需要应用新的科学方法。全息漫射器在给定方向上提供实质性的亮度增强，只要入射光输入相对于其表面是在法向的。到目前为止，入射光在一个正常角度的必要性已经阻止了全息漫射器在LCD背光工业中的广泛使用，因为需要一个或两个额外的光学薄膜来引导从led到全息漫射器的光。第一阶段的努力将消除对额外的1 - 2个准直光学薄膜的需求，并将提供具有可控输出角分布的薄单分量明亮LCD背光。效率的提高将减少电力消耗。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括开发用于建筑，街道和类似照明设计的高效薄LED照明面板。在SGHD上建立多色光传播和衍射模型将为在许多受限几何中建模和理解光传播提供基础，例如，在集成光学的薄波导中，以及在生物组织中。SGHD项目的商业影响包括开发针对移动电话的更高效、更经济的LCD背光，以及可能用于更大尺寸显示器的LCD，例如笔记本电脑和台式显示器。SGHD为LED照明提供了更紧凑的照明光片。与此同时，SGHD应该被证明比目前的解决方案更节能。SGHD的其他应用将包括医疗、科学和工业仪器的照明组件。该项目的成功将通过降低LCD背光的成本和功耗来造福社会。受影响的市场领域将包括LED照明、彩色显示器。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to design and fabricate a novel Substrate-Guided Holographic Diffuser (SGHD) for liquid crystal display (LCD) backlights and for light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. There is a substantial need to reduce the power consumption of backlit LCDs, while making them more affordable to consumers. Finding new techniques and materials both to reduce substantially the number of optical components in LCD backlights and make them more efficient and bright requires application of new scientific approaches. Holographic diffusers give a substantial brightness enhancement in a given direction provided the incident light input is in normal direction with respect to its surface. To date, the necessity to have incident light at a normal angle has prevented the widespread use of holographic diffusers in the LCD backlighting industry, because one or two additional optical films are needed to direct the light from LEDs towards the holographic diffuser. This Phase I effort will result in eliminating the need for one-two additional collimating optical films, and will provide a thin one-component bright LCD backlight with a controlled output angular distribution. The increased efficiency will reduce the power consumption. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes development of highly efficient and thin LED lighting panels for architectural, street, and similar lighting designs. Building a model of polychromatic light propagation and diffraction on SGHD will provide a basis for modeling and understanding of light propagation in a number of confined geometries: e.g., in thin waveguides for integrated optics and, in biological tissues. The commercial impact of the SGHD project includes development of more efficient and more cost effective LCD backlights aimed for mobile phones, and potentially for larger size displays, such as LCDs in notebook computers and in desktop monitors. The SGHD provides more compact illumination light patches for LED lighting. At the same time, SGHD should prove to be more power efficient than current solutions. Other applications of SGHD will include lighting components for medical, scientific, and industrial instrumentation. The success of this project will benefit society by reducing the cost and power consumption of LCD backlighting. The market sectors impacted will include LED lighting, color displays.