<p>Complex artificial materials (metamaterials) strongly interact with light and can be used to fabricate structures which mimic a material response that has no natural equivalent. Classical tools for the design of optical or radio frequency devices are often ill-suited to utilize such media or have shortcomings in their ability to capture important physics in the device behavior. Recently it has been demonstrated that the structure of Maxwell's equations can be used to exploit this newly available freedom. By leveraging the `form-invariance' of Maxwell's equations under coordinate transforms, it is possible to develop material distributions in which light will behave as though flowing through warped coordinates. This design process is termed `transformation optics' and has inspired the creation of many novel electromagnetic structures such as the invisibility cloak.</p><p>In this dissertation the tools used in the field of transformation optics will be explored and expanded. Several new designs are discussed, each of which expands upon the ideas that have previously been employed in the field. To begin, I show that the explicit use of a transformation which extends throughout all space may be used to reduce the overall size of an optical device without changing its optical properties. A lens is chosen as a canonical device to demonstrate this behavior. For this work I provided the original idea for a compressing transformation as well as its dielectric-only implementation. I then mentored Dan Roberts as he confirmed the device properties through simulation. I further demonstrate that currents may be succesfully employed within the framework of transformation optics-resulting in novel antenna designs. For this work I suggested handling the sheet currents as the limit of a volumetric current density. I also demonstrated how an intermediate coordinate system could be used to easily handle the types of transformatios which were being explored.</p><p>For a particular functionality the choice of transformation is, in general, not unique. It is natural, then, to seek optimized transformations which reduce the complexity of the final structure. It was recently demonstrated that for some transformations a numerical scheme could be employed to find quasi-conformal transformations for which the requisite complex material distribution could be well approximated by an isotropic, inhomogeneous media. This process was previously used to demonstrate a carpet cloak-a device which masks a bump in a mirror surface. Unlike the more common transformation optical media, which exhibit strong losses at high frequencies, isotropic designs can be readily made to function at infrared or even optical frequencies.</p><p>The prospect of leveraging transformation optics in devices which operate at high frequencies, into the infrared and visible, motivates the use of quasi-conformal transformations in lens design. I demonstrate how transformation optics can be used to take a classical lens design based on spherical symmetry, such as a Luneburg lens, and warp it to suit the requirements of a planar imaging array. I report on the experimental demonstration of this lens at microwave frequencies. In the final design a lens is demonstrated in a two-dimensional field mapping waveguide to have a field of view of ~140 degrees and a bandwidth exceeding a full decade. In this work I proposed the idea of using the inverse of the quasi-conformal transform to arrive at the lens index profile. I performed all necessary simulations and wrote ray tracing code to confirm the properties of the lens. I proposed the metamaterial realization of the lens and performed the necessary retrievals for material design. I wrote code which would create the layout for an arbitrary gradient index structure in a standard computer aided drafting format. I fabricated three lenses-two of which are described in this thesis-and took all of the data shown in the thesis.</p><p>The most well known example of a transformation optical device is the invisibility cloak. Despite the great deal of attention paid to the cloak in the literature, the most natural way in which to quantify the efficacy of the cloak-its cross-section-has never been experimentally determined. This measurement is of practical interest because the cloak provides a useful canonical example of a medium which relies on the unique properties of metamaterials-strong anisotropy, inhomogeneity and both magnetic and electric response. Thus, a cloaking cross-section measurement provides a useful way to quantify advancements in the effective medium theories which form the basis for metamaterials. I report on the first such measurements, performed on the original microwave cloaking design. The experiments were carried out in a two-dimensional TE waveguide. Explicit field maps are used to determine the Bessel decomposition of the scattered wave. It is found that the cloak indeed reduces the scattering cross-section of a concealed metal cylinder in a frequency band from 9.91 to 10.14 GHz. The maximum cross-section reduction was determined to be 24%. The total cross-section and the Bessel decomposition of the scattered wave are compared to an analytical model for the cloaking design which assumes a discrete number of loss-less, homogenized cylinders. While the qualitative features of the cloak-a reduced cross-section at the cloaking frequency-are realized, there is significant deviation from the homogenized calculation. These deviations are associated with loss and inaccuracies of the effective-medium-model for metamaterials. In this work I proposed of direct integration of the fields to perform cross-section measurements. I worked out the necessary formulas to determine the coefficients in the Bessel expansion and the resulting scattering cross-section. I mentored an undergraduate student, Dan Gaultney, who scripted the application of the cross-section analysis and took the necessary data. All of the data in this thesis, however, is based on my own implementation of the data analysis.</p> / Dissertation

It is difficult to fabricate electrode, which have gradient electric field from edge to center by applying voltage. In this study, a gradient refractive index profile can be easily formed. We change the experimental parameter about exposure time of UV light, concentration of PVK film and the Cell gap to investigate the influence on focal length. As the exposure time increase, the differences in conductivity become large from edge to center, which create better index distribution. For high concentration of PVK films, UV light can not effectively improve the conductivity of transmittance zone, which case the worse index distribution. The increasing of cell gap resulting in poor distribution of the refractive index, which cause larger focal length.

The primary function of the lens capsule of the eye unfolds during the process of accommodation; wherein, tension imposed onto its equator is released, allowing the elastic capsule to mold the underlying lens nucleus and cortex into a more quasispherical morphology to change focus from distant to near objects. Given its highly mechanical nature, it is prudent to study the native lens capsule from the perspective of biomechanics for such applications as understanding the mechanism of accommodation. Further, cataract surgery introduces alterations to the geometry of the lens capsule that lead to changes in resident cell behavior from quiescent to contractile and synthetic. Though resultant changes in capsule histology are well documented little has been done to quantify the corresponding altered mechanics, which is important for elucidating related post-surgical pathologies and improving prosthetic lens design. In this study we present the first data on the in situ multiaxial mechanical behavior of the native and hyperglycemic anterior lens capsule in both the porcine and human models. From these data, native stresses in the lens capsule are calculated using a finite element analysis, and alterations in the corresponding strain field are calculated after the introduction of a continuous circular capsulorhexis, which is imposed during cataract surgery. Finally, we quantify both the altered mechanical behavior and contractile loads imposed onto the lens capsule after cataract surgery.

This study presents a new process to fabricate gapless triangular micro-lens array (GTMA). The process includes optical simulation with tracepro, UV lithography, photoresist reflow process, Ni electroplating and hot embossing technique. After photoresist triangular column array is defined using UV lithography, reflow process is applied to melt photoresist triangular column array into the shape of triangular micro-lens array. With this reflowed triangular micro-lens array, Ni is deposited and covered uniformly on the triangular micro-lens array using electroplating. The growth rate of Ni is controlled at electroplating current density of 1 Ampere Square Decimeter (ASD; A/dm2). After this electroplating process is finished, a mold of GTMA is obtained, which is served as primary mold. Subsequently, with passivation technique applied on this mold¡¦s surface, electroplating process is applied again to obtain a secondary mold. Next, this secondary mold is served as master for the subsequent hot embossing process to replicate the GTMA pattern onto polymeric material PMMA and PET sheet. The mold with stiffness and hardness plays an important role in GTMA hot embossing process. In addition, this GTMA used as optical film can offer a 100 % fill factor and a simulation of optical coupling efficiency of 66.7% to improve luminance of backlight module (BLM). In addition, this study presents the fabricated molds of GTMA with different aspect-ratio about 0.109 and 0.133. The optical measurement of BLM shows that this optical film of GTMA pattern with aspect-ratio about 0.109 can increase 15.1% of luminance and with aspect-ratio about 0.133 can increase 22.1% of luminance.

Light emitting diode (LED) will have development in liquid crystal display (LCD) backlight. Nevertheless, the point source of LED is not suitable for large size panel. Therefore, this research will change the package which is bullet type and design gapless dual-curvature micro lens (GDML). Using the optics software TracePro is simulation luminance to compare of hexagon, triangular and dual-curvature micro lens, and fabrication of the better size. We can get metal model using micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology after electroforming and hot embossing. The micro lens is formed by UV cure in metal model. It has different curvature and fill factor 100%. The advantage of electroforming is can manufacture a lot of product fast with high performance. The shrinkage rate is less than 0.5%. The collocation package of micro lens and LED chip can improve intensity and uniformity.

Conventional ion imaging techniques utilized grid electrodes to extract and to accelerate ions toward the detector. The disadvantages of grid electrodes caused transmission reduction, severe image distortions and image blur due to the non-point source geometry. All these problems can be solved by the utilization of an open lens electrode assembly. In velocity mapping, the extracting electric field of an open electrostatic lens that projects the ion cloud onto the detector. The major advantage of the combination of ion lens optics and two-dimensional detection is that ions from different positions with the same initial velocity vector would be mapped onto the same position on the detector, which was named ¡§ velocity map imaging .¡¨ The kinetic energy resolutions achievable with this method are not generally considered as being competitive with the best photofragment translational spectroscopy technique. But Ashfold and co-workers have demonstrated that velocity imaging methods can provide dissociation energy with one wavenumber resolution, i.e., it compares favourably with all rival photofragment translational spectroscopy techniques. We construct an ion imaging apparatus and the pressure inside can be maintained at ~ 10-6 Torr with differential pumping when the pulsed nozzle is shut off. The pressure in the source chamber raises from 2.1¡Ñ10-6 to 1.0¡Ñ10-5 Torr and the pressure in the photolysis chamber raises from 2.4¡Ñ10-7 to 3.6¡Ñ10-7 Torr, when the pulsed nozzle is turned on with a stagnation pressure at 3 bar. Because reactive chemicals attack the piezo disk translator and ruin the Viton O-ring, a modified pulsed nozzle and Teflon O-ring are adopted to overcome these problems. This pulsed nozzle is mounted on a three-dimensional translational stage such that the nozzle can be aligned inside vacuum. The homogeneity of the accelerating electric field is crucial to the performance of the ion imaging apparatus. To meet this requirement, parallel electrodes of identical dimensions have been assured in the manufacture of the ion lens assembly.

published_or_final_version / Anatomy / Master / Master of Philosophy

When designing a lens, cost and manufacturing concerns are extremely challenging, especially with radical optical designs. The tolerance process is the bridge between design and manufacturing. Three techniques which improve the interaction between lens design and engineers are successfully shown in this thesis along with implementation of these techniques. First, a method to accurately model optomechanical components within lens design is developed and implemented. Yield improvements are shown to increase by approximately 3% by modeling optomechanical components. Second, a method utilizing aberration theory is applied to discover potential tolerance sensitivity of an optical system through the design process. The use of aberration theory gives an engineer ways to compensate for errors. Third, a method using tolerance grade mapping is applied to error values of an optical system. This mapping creates a simplified comparison method between individual tolerances and lens designs.

Fluidic lenses have been developed for ophthalmic applications. The lenses use a pressure differential to deform a membrane, which separates two fluids with different indexes of refraction. The change in membrane shape creates changes in the optical wavefront. By utilizing different boundary conditions on the membrane, the progression of the membrane shape can be controlled. Specifically, a circular restraint is used to produce optical power, whereas a rectangular restraint is used to produce a combination of power and astigmatism. These lenses are analyzed for dominant properties and wavefront quality. By combining 2 rectangular restraint lenses at 45° and a circular restraint lens, both orthogonal second order Zernike astigmatisms as well as second order power can be independently controlled. This combination can also be described as independent control of ophthalmic cylinder, cylinder axis, and power, which is required to create a basic phoropter. A fluidic phoropter is demonstrated and analyzed in this manuscript.

No description available.