US 12,222,599 B2
Optical layer and optical system
Zhaohui Yang, North Oaks, MN (US); Przemyslaw P. Markowicz, Woodbury, MN (US); Mark A. Roehrig, Stillwater, MN (US); Tri D. Pham, Woodbury, MN (US); Serena L. Schleusner, Roberts, WI (US); David A. Rosen, North St. Paul, MN (US); and Yang Liu, Mercer Island, WA (US)
Assigned to 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY, St. Paul, MN (US)
Appl. No. 17/776,941
Filed by 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY, St. Paul, MN (US)
PCT Filed Dec. 1, 2020, PCT No. PCT/IB2020/061327
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 13, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/111297, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 10, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/944,676, filed on Dec. 6, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0397791 A1, Dec. 15, 2022
Int. Cl. G02F 1/1335 (2006.01); G02B 3/00 (2006.01)
CPC G02F 1/133526 (2013.01) [G02B 3/0056 (2013.01); G02F 1/133507 (2021.01); G02F 1/133524 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An optical layer comprising:
a structured first major surface and an opposite second major surface, the structured first major surface comprising a plurality of microlenses arranged along orthogonal first and second directions; and
an embedded optically opaque first mask layer disposed between and spaced apart from the first and second major surfaces, the first mask layer defining a plurality of laser-ablated through first openings therein arranged along the first and second directions, there being a one-to-one correspondence between the microlenses and the first openings, wherein for each first opening in at least a majority of the first openings, the first opening defines a voided region having a top major surface facing the first major surface and an opposite bottom major surface facing the second major surface, wherein in a cross-section of the optical layer substantially perpendicular to optical layer, the optical layer comprises a plurality of nanoparticles concentrated along at least one of the top and bottom major surfaces of the voided regions, wherein the first mask layer comprises a first material and the nanoparticles comprise at least one of the first material or an oxide of the first material.