A nanovoided polymer-based material may include a bulk polymer material defining a plurality of nanovoids and an interfacial film disposed at an interface between each of the plurality of nanovoids and the bulk polymer material. The interfacial film may include one or more layers of material. A method of forming a nanovoided polymer-based material may include (1) forming a bulk polymer material defining a plurality of nanovoids and (2) forming an interfacial film at an interface between each of the plurality of nanovoids and the bulk polymer material. Various other methods, systems, and materials are also disclosed.

In some examples, a method includes forming a material layer on a substrate, partially polymerizing a component of the material layer, to form fluid-filled droplets within a partially polymerized matrix, deforming the material layer to form anisotropic fluid-filled droplets, and further polymerizing the partially polymerized matrix to form an anisotropic voided polymer, including anisotropic voids in a polymer matrix. The anisotropic voids may include anisotropic nanovoids. Example methods may further include depositing electrodes on the anisotropic voided polymer so that at least a portion of the anisotropic voided polymer is located between the electrodes. Examples may include forming electroactive elements including an anisotropic nanovoided polymer, and devices (such as sensors and/or actuators) including electroactive elements.

In some examples, a device includes a multilayer structure, a first electrode, and a second electrode, where the multilayer structure is located at least in part between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the multilayer structure includes a nanovoided polymer layer, and a solid layer. The solid layer may include a non-nanovoided layer. The nanovoided polymer layer may be an electroactive layer. The device may further include a control circuit configured to apply an electrical potential between the first electrode and the second electrode, which may induce a mechanical deformation of the multilayer.

A GRIN optic having an optical axis (z-direction) and a GRIN profile varying in the x and y-directions, the profile having one or more discontinuities extending in the x-y direction. The discontinuities may form a non-closed shape or have a non-smooth rectilinear shape. The GRIN optic may have plane-parallel surfaces. A method of designing a GRIN optic which includes mapping discretized elements in the light output specification to array elements of a linear GRIN array elements, identifying for each array element, a base refractive index n.sub.0, a gradient magnitude α, and a gradient direction θ.sub.G capable of directing a beamlet from the light source to a corresponding location in the light output specification, and constructing a piecewise-continuous freeform GRIN profile of the GRIN optic by integrating the discrete linear GRIN array elements into a continuous refractive index profile.

Disclosed is an improved diffraction structure for 3D display systems. The improved diffraction structure includes an intermediate layer that resides between a waveguide substrate and a top grating surface. The top grating surface comprises a first material that corresponds to a first refractive index value, the underlayer comprises a second material that corresponds to a second refractive index value, and the substrate comprises a third material that corresponds to a third refractive index value. According to additional embodiments, improved approaches are provided to implement deposition of imprint materials onto a substrate, which allow for very precise distribution and deposition of different imprint patterns onto any number of substrate surfaces.

A refractive optical component has a main body with a plurality m of optical layers extending between a front side and a back side, each layer having a thickness, wherein each of the layers extends over a region common to all layers, the common region being greater than the maximum thickness of the respective layer by at least a factor of 10, wherein the thickness of the layers varies over the extent thereof transversely to the principal axis, and wherein the main body has a refractive index curve (n=n(x, y, z)), modulated at least in the direction parallel to the principal axis, with a plurality of maxima and minima, a distance between adjacent maxima and minima ranging between 0.5 μm and 100 μm and a refractive index difference Δn between adjacent maxima and minima ranging between 10.sup.−4 and 0.3.

An example device includes a nanovoided polymer element, a first electrode, and a second electrode. The nanovoided polymer element may be located at least in part between the first electrode and the second electrode. In some examples, the nanovoided polymer element may include anisotropic voids. In some examples, anisotropic voids may be elongated along one or more directions. In some examples, the anisotropic voids are configured so that a polymer wall thickness between neighboring voids is generally uniform. Example devices may include a spatially addressable electroactive device, such as an actuator or a sensor, and/or may include an optical element. A nanovoided polymer layer may include one or more polymer components, such as an electroactive polymer.

A method for fabricating a contact lens by an additive fabrication process includes joining a first portion of the contact lens with a second portion of the contact lens and joining a third portion of the contact lens with at least one of the first portion and the second portion of the contact lens. A center of a correction region of the contact lens may be offset from a center of the contact lens. The first portion and the second portion may include a first material and a second material at different ratios. The first portion and the second portion of the contact lens may include a first material and a second material having different sizes.

Light directing film structure employing at least two layers having different refractive indices and forming a continuous corrugated boundary between major surfaces of the film. The corrugated boundary forms a plurality of alternating facets forming different dihedral angles with a prevalent plane of the film structure. The facets may longitudinally extend along an arcuate or circular path. Light received by a major surface of the film structure is internally redirected by interacting with the facets of the corrugated inter-layer boundary and may be emitted from the opposing major surface towards a new propagation direction which is different from the original propagation direction.

The present disclosure includes optical articles comprising a film layer that has first and second film surfaces and is embossed such that the first film surface defines a plurality of concave optical elements and the second film surface defines a plurality of convex optical elements. The present optical articles can include one or more optical layers coupled to the film layer. Each of the optical layer(s) can encapsulate the concave optical elements or the convex optical elements.