PFI-TT: Development of Novel Lens Technology for Next Generation Laser Manufacturing

PFI-TT：开发用于下一代激光制造的新型透镜技术

• 批准号: 2234413
• 负责人: Berardi Sensale-Rodriguez
• 金额: $ 24.4万
• 依托单位: University of Utah
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2234413&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PFI; TT; Development; Novel; Lens

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to enable much smaller and simpler laser-marking and laser-welding machines, which are critical for supply-chain management, and very widely used in all types of industries ranging from pharmaceuticals, automobile components, aerospace, electronics, food packaging and so on. The laser-marking machine market size was valued at $2.76 billion in 2020 and it is critical to the US national security and America’s global industrial leadership. The technology being developed in this PFI project will make it possible to perform laser processing over complex 3D geometries and large step heights without expensive and complex refocusing mechanisms, which could lead to a larger application space for laser-marking, while reducing overall costs. The proposed project will demonstrate extended depth of focus flat lenses for high power laser applications. This proposed flat-lens technology will improve the robustness of laser-based materials processing by allowing for focusing high-power laser beams for significantly extended distances than what is possible by the current art. This will be enabled by new inverse design paradigms as well as novel optical materials. A second innovation arises from combining programmable materials to create additional focus tunability for these lenses, which will e.g., enable overcoming mechanical refocusing through costly motor systems that are prone to failure. This PFI project is aimed at developing and translating into commercialization these new optical technologies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to enable much smaller and simpler laser-marking and laser-welding machines, which are critical for supply-chain management, and very widely used in all types of industries ranging from pharmaceuticals, automobile components, aerospace, electronics, food packaging and so on. 2020年，激光标记机的市场规模为27.6亿美元，这对于美国国家安全和美国的全球工业领导力至关重要。该PFI项目中开发的技术将使您可以对复杂的3D几何形状和较大的步进高度进行激光处理，而无需昂贵且复杂的重新聚焦机制，这可能会导致更大的激光标记应用空间，同时降低整体成本。拟议的项目将展示高功率激光应用的焦点扁平镜头的扩展深度。这项提出的扁平镜头技术将通过允许将高功率激光束聚焦到显着延长的距离而不是当前艺术的距离大大延长距离，从而提高了基于激光的材料处理的鲁棒性。这将通过新的逆设计范例以及新颖的光学材料来实现。第二种创新是由可编程材料组合起来为这些镜头创建额外的焦点可可键性的，例如，它将通过昂贵的电动机系统来克服机械重新聚焦，这些电机系统容易失败。该PFI项目旨在开发和转化为商业化这些新的光学技术。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来评估，被视为珍贵的支持。