Tempered Glass Optical Filter for Thin Substrate Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical filters face challenges with glass substrates being prone to breakage, increased thickness, and handling difficulties, especially with thin substrates, which affect the strength and machining of near-infrared cutoff filters used in imaging devices.
Innovation Solution
The use of a tempered glass substrate with a strengthening resin layer, where the glass substrate is chemically tempered and machined in a sheet state to form optical filter layers on both surfaces, enhancing the filter's strength and reducing warpage, while also improving handling and machining processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a conventional glass substrate is used for NIR cutoff filter, then the filter can be manufactured, but the glass substrate is easily broken by external impact or stress and has handling difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies chemical tempering to the glass substrate, which changes the physical and chemical parameters of the glass structure. This process creates compressive stress in the surface layer and tensile stress in the interior, significantly increasing the substrate's strength and resistance to external impact and stress, thereby resolving the contradiction between manufacturability and strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a glass substrate that combines multiple material properties through chemical tempering and multilayer coating. The tempered glass substrate itself acts as a composite structure with enhanced mechanical properties, and when combined with the strengthening resin layer and oxide multilayer film, creates a composite optical filter system that simultaneously achieves high strength, good handling characteristics, and optical performance.
2Length of stationary object
If the thickness of glass substrate is reduced to make the filter thinner, then the filter becomes slimmer, but the substrate becomes difficult to handle and machine
Solution Approach 1:
By applying chemical tempering to thin glass substrates (0.1-0.3mm), the patent changes the mechanical parameters of the substrate, dramatically increasing its strength and rigidity. This allows thin substrates to be handled and machined with the same ease as thicker substrates, resolving the contradiction between reducing filter thickness and maintaining machining ease.
3Weight of moving object
If a resin substrate is used instead of glass substrate, then the substrate is lighter and can be made thinner, but the substrate is easily bent by external stress and coating yield deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite structure where a thin glass substrate (lighter than traditional thick glass) is chemically tempered to gain the stability and rigidity normally associated with thicker substrates. When combined with the oxide multilayer film and strengthening resin layer, this composite system achieves both the weight reduction benefits of thin substrates and the stability of traditional glass substrates.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional glass substrate is used, then the filter can be manufactured, but the entire thickness of the filter is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing approach by applying chemical tempering to thin glass substrates (0.1-0.3mm) before coating, which enables the use of thinner substrates without compromising strength. This parameter change in substrate thickness, combined with the strengthening treatment, allows manufacturing of filters with reduced overall thickness while maintaining ease of manufacture through standardized processes.
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
This approach results in a strengthened optical filter with improved strength, reduced thickness, and enhanced coatability, enabling the production of high-quality, slim near-infrared cutoff filters with excellent performance and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
the glass substrate is chemically tempered
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an optical filter and a method of manufacturing the same, the optical filter including a tempered glass substrate and an optical filter formed on upper and lower surfaces of the tempered glass substrate and the method including: forming a sheet-cutting portion on a base glass substrate on a per-cell basis; tempering the base glass substrate such that upper and lower surfaces of the base glass substrate are tempered and a side portion thereof is tempered through the sheet-cutting portion as well; forming an optical filter layer on each of upper and lower surfaces of the base glass substrate; and dividing the base glass substrate into cells where each cell serves as a cell-based optical filter.