PFI-TT: Advanced Materials for Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) Applications

PFI-TT：用于增强/虚拟现实 (AR/VR) 应用的先进材料

• 批准号: 2314268
• 负责人: Chih-Hao Chang
• 金额: $ 25万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 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: 2023-11-15 至 2025-10-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2314268&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PFI; TT; Advanced; Materials; Augmented

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to create light signal microchips using special materials that will work faster and more efficiently. With the emergence of the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) displays that are forecasted to grow into a $100 billon industry, there is high consumer demand for smaller, more efficient, and higher-performance wearable gadgets and devices. These devices use special microchips to guide light on the glass surfaces to overlay digital content on visual objects that the eyes see. One important design factor in such AR/VR devices is the use of low refractive index materials, which can enhance contrast and reduce optical losses and provide higher-quality images. The existing materials falls short and have poor mechanical properties, limiting the optical efficiency and mechanical robustness of the devices. This key challenge will be addressed by a novel material, which has a unique combination of low refractive index and high mechanical stiffness. The proposed material is expected to be light and will improve the efficiency of such microchips by 40% and can be widely adopted in next-generation wearable devices.The proposed project will enable the manufacturing of a nanolattice material that can break the traditional optical index vs mechanical stiffness trade-off observed in existing low-index material. Commercially available low-index materials are limited and are unable to achieve index less than 1.3. The index can be further reduced by using porous materials; however, the random porosity can significantly degrade mechanical properties at low density. The proposed research aims to directly engineer the architecture and material composition of the nanolattices to enable optical index of less than 1.2 while maintaining over 10 GPa stiffness, properties that are not possible in traditional materials. Through a partnership with stakeholders from academia, industry, and the start-up ecosystem, this applied research will be accomplished by addressing key technology barriers in nanolattice modeling, integration processes, and scalable manufacturing. The main goals for this project are: (1) Optimize the optical and mechanical properties of the nanolattice material, (2) develop high-yield integration processes to embed the nanolattice material into photonic waveguides, and (3) demonstrate scale-up manufacturing and benchmark throughput with industrial partners. If successful, this project will enable the scalable manufacturing and facilitate the commercialization of nanolattice materials for the emerging wearable AR/VR industry.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.

这种伙伴关系对创新 - 技术翻译（PFI -TT）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是使用特殊材料来创建光信号微芯片，这些材料将更快，更有效地工作。随着虚拟现实（VR）和增强现实（AR）的出现，预计将发展成为100美元的Billon行业，因此，消费者对较小，更高效且较高性能可穿戴的小工具和设备的需求很高。 这些设备使用特殊的微芯片来指导玻璃表面上的光线，以覆盖眼睛看到的视觉对象的数字内容。 此类AR/VR设备中的一个重要设计因素是使用低折射率材料，该材料可以增强对比度并减少光损失并提供更高质量的图像。现有材料掉落不足，机械性能较差，从而限制了设备的光学效率和机械鲁棒性。这一主要挑战将通过一种新型材料来解决，该材料具有低折射率和高机械刚度的独特组合。预计所提出的材料将是轻巧的，将使此类微芯片的效率提高40％，并且可以在下一代可穿戴设备中广泛采用。拟议的项目将使可以破坏传统的光学指数与机械刚度在现有低点数中观察到的纳米质材料的制造。市售的低指数材料受到限制，无法获得小于1.3的指数。可以使用多孔材料进一步降低该指数；但是，随机孔隙率可以在低密度下显着降解机械性能。拟议的研究旨在直接设计纳米质体的结构和材料组成，以使光学指数低于1.2，同时保持超过10个GPA刚度，这是传统材料中无法使用的特性。通过与学术界，行业和启动生态系统的利益相关者建立合作伙伴关系，该应用研究将通过解决纳米拉台建模，集成过程和可扩展制造中的关键技术障碍来实现。该项目的主要目标是：（1）优化纳米质材料的光学和机械性能，（2）开发高收益集成过程，将纳米质材料嵌入光子波导中，（3）展示扩展制造和与工业伙伴进行基准测试。如果成功的话，该项目将实现可扩展的制造业，并促进新兴可穿戴式AR/VR行业的纳米质材料的商业化。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的评估标准来通过评估来进行评估的。