Hybrid Wire Grid Polarizer for Heat Dissipation and Oblique Light
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wire grid polarizing elements face challenges in heat tolerance, heat dissipation, and polarization splitting properties for oblique incident light at wide-range incident angles, leading to decreased image quality and light utilization efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A wire grid polarizing element with a hybrid structure made of inorganic and organic materials, featuring a grid structural body with ridge portions and a functional film that covers the ridge portions in a specific manner to maintain high transmittance and reflectance across various incident angles, formed using nano-imprinting for cost-effective mass production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a wire grid polarizing element is used to prevent solar light from being incident on a display element, then heat tolerance is improved, but transmissivity for oblique incident light deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the wire grid structure, specifically setting the pitch to 0.05 to 0.15 times the wavelength of incident light and the height to 0.05 to 0.2 times the wavelength. These parameter optimizations enable the polarizing element to maintain high transmissivity for oblique incident light while effectively blocking solar light and improving heat tolerance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite structure combining transparent substrate material with metal wire grid elements. This composite design allows the polarizing element to simultaneously achieve optical transparency for desired light transmission and thermal reflection for solar light blocking, resolving the contradiction between heat tolerance and transmissivity.
2Manufacturing precision
If the array pitch of the wire grid is reduced to improve polarization properties, then polarization splitting performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies an optimized pitch range of 0.05 to 0.15 times the wavelength of incident light, which balances polarization performance with manufacturability. This parameter optimization ensures sufficient polarization splitting without requiring excessively fine pitch that would be difficult to manufacture.
3Loss of energy
If a reflection-type polarizing element is added to block solar light, then heat dissipation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the polarizing function and the solar light blocking function into a single integrated wire grid polarizing element. This element simultaneously reflects solar light for heat dissipation and transmits oblique incident light for display visibility, eliminating the need for separate components and reducing overall device complexity.
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 heat dissipation, improved polarization splitting properties, and enhanced transmissivity for oblique incident light, ensuring high image quality and efficient light utilization across a wide range of incident angles.
Implementation Method 1
By setting the array pitch of the wire grid at a pitch smaller than (for example, less than or equal to a half of) the wavelength of incident light (for example, visible light), most of light of an electric field vector component that vibrates in parallel to the conductive wires can be reflected, and most of light of an electric field vector component perpendicular to the conductive wires can be transmitted.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a wire grid polarizing element excellent in heat dissipation and excellent in transmissivity and polarization splitting properties for oblique incident light at wide-range incident angles. A wire grid polarizing element 1 of a hybrid type made of an inorganic material and an organic material includes a substrate 10 made of the inorganic material, a grid structural body 20 made of the organic material and including a base part 21 provided on the substrate 10 and a plurality of ridge portions 22, the base part and the ridge portions being integrally formed, and a functional film 30 made of a metal material and covering part of the ridge portion 22. The ridge portion 22 has an upward narrowing shape that narrows in width with distance from the base part 21. The functional film 30 covers and wraps the top of the ridge portion 22, and does not cover a bottom side of the ridge portion 22 and the base part 21. A surface of the functional film 30 is rounded and bulges in a width direction of the ridge portions 22. A maximum width (WMAX) of the functional film 30 is more than or equal to a bottom width (WB) of the ridge portion 22.