Integrated optical component and method of making

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10379369-B2
Application number	US-201816002382-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 7, 2018
Priority date	Dec 23, 2013
Publication date	Aug 13, 2019
Grant date	Aug 13, 2019

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an integrated optical component array and method of making an integrated optical component array useful for projection devices or other optical devices. The integrated optical component array can be a PBS array fabricated such that the individual PBS cubes having several elements can be assembled in a massively parallel manner and then singulated as individual optical components, and can result in a large reduction in manufacturing cost.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of making an optical component, comprising:
laminating a reflective polarizer between a first polymeric plate and a second polymeric plate, the first polymeric plate having a first outer surface and the second polymeric plate having an opposing second outer surface;
milling a plurality of parallel first troughs in the second polymeric plate at a 45 degree angle to the reflective polarizer to a first bottom, each parallel first trough separating a stair step riser from a first prism surface of a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) cube;
milling a plurality of parallel second troughs perpendicular to the first troughs thereby forming a plurality of stair step treads, each of the stair step treads coplanar with the first bottom and extending from a first riser to an adjacent second riser, wherein each second trough separates end faces of adjacent PBS cubes on the tread, and an intersection of the tread and the riser defines a first hinge proximate the first outer surface;
optionally milling a plurality of parallel third troughs each having a third bottom, each parallel to the first troughs, each of the parallel third troughs being perpendicular to the corresponding stair step riser and forming a flange supporting the PBS cubes, the third bottom separated from the tread by a second hinge; and
milling a plurality of notches parallel to the first troughs, each notch having a first notch surface parallel to the tread and a second notch surface parallel to and extending into the riser, wherein the first notch surface comprises a fourth prism surface opposite the tread and the second notch surface comprises a third prism surface opposite the first prism surface,
wherein the milling steps can be performed in any order.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising polishing at least one of the first prism surface, the third prism surface, the fourth prism surface, and the end face.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising coating at least one of the first prism surface, the third prism surface, the fourth prism surface, and the end face, with a black coating.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising separating adjacent treads from each other along the first hinge, thereby forming a plurality of PBS cube linear arrays supported on the tread.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising separating each flange along the second hinge, thereby forming a plurality of PBS cube linear arrays supported on the flange.

6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising securing the PBS cube linear array in an embedding material or on an adhesive surface, and milling the first outer surface to a second prism surface.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising polishing the second prism surface.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising removing the embedding material or the adhesive surface, thereby singulating the individual PBS cubes.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first polymeric plate has a thickness greater than the second polymeric plate.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first polymeric plate has a thickness twice as large as the second polymeric plate.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein laminating the reflective polarizer between the first and second polymeric plates comprises coating an adhesive on each major surface of the reflective polarizer before laminating the first and second polymeric plates, and curing the adhesive.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein curing the adhesive comprises ultraviolet radiation curing the adhesive.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first polymeric plate and the second polymeric plate comprise a heat stabilized acrylic.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the heat stabilized acrylic has a retardance of less than 20 nm.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first prism surface is a back black coated surface, the third prism surface is a polished output surface, and the fourth prism surface comprises a polished aperture suitable for a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) imager.

16. The method of claim 6 , wherein the second prism surface is a polished light input surface.

Assignees

• 3M Innovative Properties Co

Inventors

• Le John D
• Ouderkirk Andrew J
• Carls Joseph C
• Murray Cameron T
• Ferguson Richard J
• Barum Cory C

Classifications

• G02B27/285 Primary

  comprising arrays of elements, e.g. microprisms · CPC title

• G02B1/10

  Optical coatings produced by application to, or surface treatment of, optical elements (G02B1/08 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02F1/133512

  Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix (G02F1/136209 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02F1/133536

  Reflective polarizers (G02F1/13362 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02F2001/13355

  Physics · mapped topic