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Optically Tunable Bifunctional Structures Fabricated by Hybrid Imprint‐Photo Lithography (HIPL)
Author(s) -
Lim Haneol,
Park Byeonghak,
Choi SeJin,
Beak Seungjoon,
Kim Taeil
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced materials technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.184
H-Index - 42
ISSN - 2365-709X
DOI - 10.1002/admt.202000095
Subject(s) - photomask , materials science , lithography , optics , photolithography , collimated light , backlight , planar , optoelectronics , liquid crystal display , laser , nanotechnology , resist , layer (electronics) , computer science , physics , computer graphics (images)
Optically tunable bifunctional structures are created by hybrid imprint‐photo lithography (HIPL), which is a combination of photolithography and soft lithography via a structured photomask. Prismatic patterns are formed on a flexible photomask, and the structured photomask is exploited as an imprint mold to create two‐layered microstructures that show a tunable refraction property. Fabricated microstructures, such as the perpendicularly aligned cross‐prismatic island (PAC‐PI), show optically dual functionality that originates from each optical property of the upper and lower layers in two‐layered structures with symmetric light collimation in the vertical and horizontal axes along both directions of the upper and lower prismatic layers, whereas a single conventional prismatic film shows only one‐axis collimation. Moreover, tunability of the light collimation, which can be modulated by varying the area ratio of the upper and lower layers from 80% to 20% using optical simulation, is demonstrated. Such optically tunable bifunction on a single sheet could potentially reduce the number of required optical sheets, such as the liquid crystal display backlight unit (LCD BLU). This new hybrid lithography process could provide a potential pathway to construct highly complex optical components, such as planar waveguide, microlight emitting diode, virtual reality/augmented reality, and holographic display devices.