NSF Award
9960406
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will establish the feasibility to manufacture ultralarge thin sheets of ultraviolet (UV) polarizer films possessing excellent resistance to high operating temperatures and high-intensity UV radiation. Although polarization of high-intensity UV light is a key component of several important industrial processes, currently available polarizing systems do not meet industrial requirements. Reveo's inorganic films will be manufactured in large thin sheets at low cost. These films will operate at wavelengths as short as 110 nm, far shorter than standard polarizer films, and with adjustable bandwidth.<br/>The technology may even enable polarization in the currently inaccessible far UV (85 - 125<br/>nm) and extreme UV (50 - 90 nm) spectral ranges. The films are based on Reveo's newly<br/>invented polarizer fabrication technology that involves stacking of nano-structured layers<br/>obtained by oblique vacuum deposition. Previous research performed at Reveo has already demonstrated the viability of a similar technology in the visible region. The superior material properties, achieved through understanding and control of the film nanostructure, will ensure that the proposed UV polarizers find immediate and wide applications in material processing, chemical and pharmaceutical synthesis, and microlithography. As the first low-cost large-sheet polarizers with high efficiency, high damage threshold and high operating temperature, Reveo's inorganic UV polarizer films will be absolutely unique and find wide commercial application. The major markets for UV sheet polarizers are currently the liquid crystal display and optical components industries, but in future Reveo's UV polarizers could be the key enabling technology for low-cost chiral drug development, a huge and rapidly expanding market.
