The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an optical device, and provides a method of manufacturing an optical device, which includes: preparing first and second optical elements having a pair of corresponding surfaces; forming a reflective unit on the surface of the first optical element selected from the pair of corresponding surfaces; and forming an optical device by bringing the first and second optical elements into close contact with each other and fastening them to each other.

There is provided a diffraction optical element which comprises a base material, and in which a first resin layer having a diffraction grating shape and a second resin layer are laminated on the base material. The diffraction grating shape forms a plurality of concentric annular sections when planarly viewed from a lamination direction of the diffraction optical element. The second resin layer comprises a first portion and a second portion, and the first portion is provided on a first annular section of the first resin layer. The second portion is continuously provided from above the first portion to above a region including a periphery of the first resin layer. A difference between a refractive index of the second portion on a center of the first annular section and a refractive index of the second portion on a circumference of the first annular section is within 0.0005.

Methods of producing gratings with trenches having variable height are provided. In one example, a method of forming a diffracted optical element may include providing an optical grating layer over a substrate, patterning a hardmask over the optical grating layer, and forming a sacrificial layer over the hardmask, the sacrificial layer having a non-uniform height measured from a top surface of the optical grating layer. The method may further include etching a plurality of angled trenches into the optical grating layer to form an optical grating, wherein a first depth of a first trench of the plurality of trenches is different than a second depth of a second trench of the plurality of trenches.

An inkjet is used to fabricate an optical device having a varying refractive index. The inkjet deposits a first material having a first refractive index and a second material having a second refractive index in a pattern on a substrate. The first material and/or the second material are processed to form an optical device having a refractive index that varies in one or two dimensions. The optical device is used in a virtual-reality system or augmented-reality system to provide angular selectivity from display to a user's eye.

A method including forming a substrate to form a template which includes areas of high relief and areas of low relief; and forming a high refractive index diffraction grating in the template by adding high refractive index material to the template to form a continuous low relief surface The high refractive index material fills the areas of low relief and covers the areas of high relief of the template to form a high refractive index diffraction grating. The high refractive index diffraction grating includes the high refractive index material configured to have a low relief side corresponding to the continuous low relief surface and configured by the template to have a periodic side including areas of high relief and areas of low relief which periodically alternate in the first direction with the first periodicity and are interconnected by the high refractive index material.

A diffractive optical element includes a first base material, and two different resin components disposed on the first base material: a first resin component as one of the two resin components having a diffraction grating shape, a refractive index nA, and a swelling rate , and a second resin component as the other of the two resin components having a diffraction grating shape, a refractive index nB, and a swelling rate , in which nA, nB, , and satisfy relations nA>nB and 2/16.

The invention provides a method for 3D printing a 3D item (1), the method comprising depositing during a printing stage 3D printable material (201), to provide the 3D item (1) comprising 3D printed material (202), wherein the printing stage comprises: 3D printing a first 3D printable material (201a) to provide a first 3D printed material (202a), the first 3D printable material (201a) comprising a cross-linkable material; creating a relief structure (610) in the first 3D printed material (202a) with a tool (630); and 3D printing a second 3D printable material (201b) to provide a second 3D printed material (202b), to provide a stack (620) of (i) 3D printed material (202) comprising the first 3D printed material comprising the relief structure (610), and (ii) the second 3D printed material (202b), wherein the method further comprises: cross-linking at least part of the first 3D printed material (202a) comprising the relief structure (610) before depositing the second 3D printable material (202b).

A method of forming an article which includes a diffraction grating, an article, and an apparatus for forming the article by printing are described. The method includes forming a periodic structure by printing a first set of parallel lines on a first side of a transparent substrate with a marking material and printing a second set of parallel lines on a second side of the transparent substrate with a marking material, the first and second sets of lines, in combination, defining a grating having a frequency and a spacing between lines which causes incident light to be diffracted into a plurality of beams travelling in different directions.

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a method for forming an optical component, for example, for a virtual reality or augmented reality display device. In one embodiment, the method includes forming a first layer on a substrate, and the first layer has a first refractive index. The method further includes pressing a stamp having a pattern onto the first layer, and the pattern of the stamp is transferred to the first layer to form a patterned first layer. The method further includes forming a second layer on the patterned first layer by spin coating, and the second layer has a second refractive index greater than the first refractive index. The second layer having the high refractive index is formed by spin coating, leading to improved nanoparticle uniformity in the second layer.

A reflective diffraction grating and a fabrication method are provided. The reflective diffraction grating includes a substrate, a UV-absorbing layer, a grating layer having a binary surface-relief pattern formed therein, and a conforming reflective layer. Advantageously, the UV-absorbing layer absorbs light at a UV recording wavelength to minimize reflection thereof by the substrate during holographic patterning at the UV recording wavelength.