Manufacturing a pre-molded stack of one or more lenses to be installable on a curved substrate such as a vehicle windshield includes placing a moldable stack of one or more lenses and adhesive layer(s) on a mold, applying heat and pressure to the moldable stack to produce a pre-molded stack of one or more lenses from the moldable stack, and removing the pre-molded stack from the mold. The pre-molded stack may have a compound curvature, which may match a curvature of the curved substrate. The mold may be formed using three-dimensional shape data derived from the curved substrate, such as by optically scanning the curved substrate.

A method for manufacturing an optical element such as a micro-optic lens may include providing a substrate having a surface profile, the substrate surface profile defining one or more flow stop features. The method may include providing a mold tool having a mold surface profile and dispensing viscous material. When the mold surface profile and the substrate surface profile are disposed towards one another and aligned relative to one another, the mold surface profile and the substrate surface profile define therebetween an optical element cavity, a peripheral cavity disposed around a periphery of the optical element cavity where the peripheral cavity includes one or more flow stop features, and an air flow path for air to flow in and out of the peripheral cavity from and to an external environment. The optical element cavity and the peripheral cavity define a peripheral constriction therebetween.

The invention relates to an optical microlens array and to a method for manufacturing an optical microlens arrays, wherein the method includes, among other things: providing a substrate having a first side and an opposite second side. The method further includes applying a photoresist to the first side of the substrate at least in portions, and structuring the photoresist such that the structured photoresist remains at predetermined locations on the first side of the substrate where one optical microlens each is to be later arranged. In addition, the method includes applying a hydrophobic coating to the first side of the substrate and subsequently removing the structured photoresist including the hydrophobic coating located thereon from the first side of the substrate. Furthermore, according to the invention, one microlens each is arranged on the spots of the first side of the substrate that are freed from the structured photoresist.

An optical component includes: a first layer made of a first material having a first refractive index, the first layer including a first principal surface and a second principal surface opposite to the first principal surface; and a second layer made of a second material having a second refractive index different from the first refractive index, the second layer including a third principal surface and a fourth principal surface opposite to the third principal surface, and the first layer and the second layer are stacked such that the second principal surface and the third principal surface are in contact. A lens is formed on the first principal surface of the first layer, and a vortex profile is formed on the third principal surface of the second layer.

The present invention generally relates to the generation of tunable coloration and/or interference from, for example, surfaces, emulsion droplets and particles. Embodiments described herein may be useful for generation of tunable electromagnetic radiation such as coloration (e.g., iridescence, structural color) and/or interference patterns from, for example, surfaces (e.g., comprising a plurality of microdomes and/or microwells), emulsion droplets and/or particles. In some embodiments, the surfaces, interfaces, droplets, and/or particles produce visible color (e.g., structural color) without the need for dyes.

Methods of manufacturing security documents and security devices, and corresponding products, provide a lenticular device effect in a first registration zone. Viewing its appearance from two different angles in this way, the relative positioning of the focussing element array and the image array can be judged to a high degree of accuracy. If the two arrays do not have the desired relative position, this will be clearly apparent since the different first and second images will not be captured at the first and second test viewing angles.

Provided is a curable composition capable of giving a lens that has excellent transfer accuracy from a mold and offers heat resistance and optical properties at excellent levels. The curable composition according to the present invention for lens formation contains a cycloaliphatic epoxide (A) represented by Formula (a), a cationic-polymerization initiator (B), and a polysiloxane (C) represented by Formula (c). The curable composition contains the polysiloxane (C) in an amount of 0.01% to 5% by weight based on the total amount of the curable composition. The curable composition according to the present invention for lens formation may further contain a siloxane compound (D) containing two or more epoxy groups per molecule. ##STR00001##

Systems and methods are provided for forming a composite optical element having a transparent lens carrier and a lens attached to the transparent lens carrier. The lens is formed from liquid silicone rubber. The Young's modulus of the material of the lens carrier is higher than that of liquid silicone rubber. The lens carrier includes a plurality of surface features configured to interface with the transparent lens.

An optic can manage light emitted by a light emitting diode. The optic can comprise a backside that faces the light emitting diode and a front side opposite the backside. The front side can be convex. The backside can have a central region that is adjacent the light emitting diode and that is either concave or convex. One or more grooves can extend peripherally about the central region. An injection molding system can produce optics in which the backside comprises the concave central region as well as optics in which the backside comprises the convex central region. The molding system can utilize one molding member shaped according to the front side of the optic. That molding member can be compatible with two other molding members that are shaped according to the different backsides of the optic. Thus, two different optic forms can be produced with three molding members.

A method of making a security device including: (a) forming an array of focussing elements on at least a first region of a focussing element support layer, by: (a)(i) applying a first transparent curable material either to the focussing element support layer or to a casting tool carrying a surface relief corresponding to the focussing elements, over an first sub-region of the first region and applying a second transparent curable material to a second sub-region of the first region laterally offset from the first sub-region, the first and second transparent curable materials having different optical detection characteristics from one another; (a)(ii) forming the first and second transparent curable materials with the casting tool; and (a)(iii) curing the first and second transparent curable materials in the first region, so as to retain the surface relief.