Optical Lens Assembly With Gradient-Pore Anti-Reflective Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional anti-reflective coatings fail to provide sufficient reduction of reflections across a wide field of wavelengths, particularly in high-end optical systems with multiple lens elements, leading to reduced image quality due to strong light in the long-wavelength range.
Innovation Solution
An optical lens assembly with at least five elements, featuring anti-reflective coatings made of metal oxide with varying hole sizes and refractive indices, and controlled thickness and arrangement factors to achieve a super-wide field of wavelength effect, including a plastic material and multiple coating layers designed using atomic layer deposition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional anti-reflective coating techniques are used, then the coating can be applied to optical lens elements, but the reflection reduction effect is insufficient especially in the long-wavelength range
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a porous coating layer with controlled pore distribution (larger pores at the outer surface, smaller pores toward the inner surface) to create a gradient refractive index structure. This porous structure enables effective anti-reflective performance across a super-wide wavelength range including UV, visible, and infrared regions, solving the insufficient long-wavelength reflection reduction of conventional coatings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite coating structure combining organic binder materials with inorganic materials (such as silicon oxide, titanium oxide, or aluminum oxide) in specific ratios. This composite approach achieves both durability and superior anti-reflective properties across wide wavelength ranges, overcoming the limitations of single-material conventional coatings.
2Reliability
If the number of lens elements is increased to improve optical system performance, then imaging quality can be enhanced, but the complexity of designing and manufacturing the optical system increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the key parameter of the coating layer - specifically the pore size distribution and material composition ratio - to achieve superior anti-reflective performance. By optimizing these parameters, the coating provides broad-spectrum reflection reduction that benefits multi-element optical systems without requiring additional complex coating layers on each element, thus managing system complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If a coating layer with uniform pore sizes is used, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the anti-reflective effect across wide wavelength range is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality variation within the coating layer by creating a pore size gradient - larger pores at the outer surface and smaller pores toward the inner surface. This spatial variation in pore quality enables broad-spectrum anti-reflective performance while maintaining a relatively simple single-layer coating structure, balancing manufacturing ease with optical performance.
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 excellent anti-reflective performance across a wide wavelength range, enhancing imaging quality and reducing reflectance to less than 1.5% across visible and long wavelengths, suitable for high-end optical systems.
Implementation Method 1
The anti-reflective coating includes at least one coating layer, and the coating layer at the outer of the anti-reflective coating is made of metal oxide
Implementation Method 2
When a refractive index of the optical lens element including the anti-reflective coating is Ns, the coating layer at the innermost of the anti-reflective coating is a first coating layer, a refractive index of the first coating layer is N1
Data Source
AI summary
An optical lens assembly is provided in the present disclosure. The optical lens assembly includes, from an object side to an image side, at least five optical lens elements. At least one of the optical lens elements includes an anti-reflective coating, and the optical lens element including the anti-reflective coating is made of a plastic material. The anti-reflective coating is arranged on an object-side surface or an image-side surface of the optical lens element including the anti-reflective coating. The anti-reflective coating includes at least one coating layer, and the coating layer at the outer of the anti-reflective coating is made of metal oxide. The anti-reflective coating includes a plurality of holes, and sizes of the holes adjacent to the outer of the anti-reflective coating are relatively larger than sizes of the holes adjacent to the inner of the anti-reflective coating.