Diffractive Waveplate Lenses for Electronic Focusing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical lenses face challenges such as increased weight and cost with size, quality degradation, and aberrations due to non-spherical surfaces, while segmented lenses have structural discontinuities and limited holographic lenses suffer from efficiency and spectral bandwidth compromises.
Innovation Solution
Development of thin film diffractive waveplate lenses with a continuous, spherically symmetric structure that can be electrically controlled to adjust focal positions and switch optical coupling, enabling variable attenuation of electromagnetic radiation across various spectral regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If conventional lenses are made larger to increase area, then the area of the lens is improved, but the weight increases strongly and quality decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by using thin film diffractive waveplate structures instead of bulk conventional lenses. The thin film coating on a substrate provides the necessary optical function with minimal weight, resolving the contradiction between large area and heavy weight in conventional lenses.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material structures combining diffractive waveplate layers with substrate materials. This composite approach enables large area lenses to be constructed with lightweight materials while maintaining optical quality, addressing both the area and weight concerns.
2Area of stationary object
If conventional lenses are made larger to increase area, then the area of the lens is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The thin film diffractive waveplate structure allows for scalable manufacturing processes that are more cost-effective for large area applications compared to conventional bulk lens fabrication, which requires expensive grinding and polishing of large substrates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical grinding and polishing processes with deposition and patterning processes for creating the diffractive waveplate structures. This substitution significantly reduces manufacturing complexity and cost for large area lenses.
3Weight of stationary object
If segmented lenses such as Fresnel lenses are used to reduce weight, then the weight is improved, but structural discontinuities result in severe aberrations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite diffractive waveplate structures that maintain structural continuity while achieving lightweight design. The continuous waveplate layers eliminate the structural discontinuities present in segmented Fresnel lenses, thereby avoiding severe aberrations while keeping weight low.
4Manufacturing precision
If non-spherical surfaces are used to achieve high-quality imaging, then the imaging quality is improved, but the complexity of grinding and polishing increases making lenses extremely expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical grinding and polishing with deposition and lithographic patterning processes to create the diffractive waveplate structures. This substitution enables high-precision optical surfaces to be manufactured with significantly reduced complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The diffractive waveplate composite structure inherently provides the necessary optical correction functions that would otherwise require complex non-spherical surface figures, achieving high imaging quality through material structure rather than surface geometry.
5Ease of manufacture
If holographic lenses are used to achieve certain optical functions, then the manufacturing is simplified, but efficiency and spectral bandwidth are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite diffractive waveplate structures that overcome the limitations of holographic lenses. The multi-layer diffractive design maintains high optical efficiency and broad spectral bandwidth while preserving the manufacturing simplicity advantage of holographic approaches.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a lightweight, cost-effective, and high-quality optical solution with adjustable focal positions and controlled optical coupling, correcting for aberrations and chromatic aberration, and enabling electronic focusing without mechanical actuators.
Implementation Method 1
A diffractive waveplate lens is a thin film of birefringent material deposited on a transparent substrate, for example a flat glass substrate. The anisotropy axis orientation is modulated in the plane of the waveplate lens. A parabolic profile of the anisotropy axis orientation modulation results in focusing or defocusing of circularly polarized light.
Implementation Method 2
The anisotropy axis orientation is modulated in the plane of the waveplate lens. A parabolic profile of the anisotropy axis orientation modulation results in focusing or defocusing of circularly polarized light.
Implementation Method 3
The switchable phase retardation layer is comprised of a liquid crystal material which changes its phase retardation properties upon application of an electric field.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems and devices for diffractive waveplate lens and mirror systems allowing electronically pointing and focusing light at different focal planes. The system can be incorporated into a variety of optical schemes for providing electrical control of transmission. In another embodiment, the system comprises diffractive waveplates of different functionality to provide a system for controlling not only focusing but other propagation properties of light including direction, phase profile, and intensity distribution. The diffractive waveplate lens and mirror systems are applicable to optical communication systems.