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This study explores the surface characteristics evaluation and performance optimization of tungsten (W)-doped vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films. W-doped vanadium dioxide films were deposited on B270 glass substrates using an electron beam evaporation technique combined with the ion beam-assisted deposition (IAD) method. The Taguchi method was used to analyze the performance optimization of VO2 thin films, and L16 orthogonal array design and Minitab software were used for optimization calculations. The surface roughness, visible light transmittance, infrared transmittance, and residual stress of un-doped and tungsten-doped (3–5%) VO2 thin films are set as the quality performance indicators of thin films. The goal is to identify the key factors that affect the performance of VO2 thin films during deposition and optimize their process parameters. The experimental results showed that a VO2 thin film with 3% tungsten doping, an oxygen flow rate of 60 sccm, a heating temperature of 280 °C, and a film thickness of 60 nm exhibited the lowest surface roughness of 2.12 nm. A VO2 thin film with 5% tungsten doping, an oxygen flow rate of 0 sccm, a heating temperature of 280 °C, and a film thickness of 60 nm had the highest visible light transmittance at 64.33%. When the oxygen flow rate was 60 sccm, the heating temperature was 295 °C, the film thickness was 150 nm, and the tungsten doping was 5%, the VO2 thin film showed the lowest infrared transmittance of 31.34%. A thin film with 5% tungsten doping, an oxygen flow rate of 20 sccm, a heating temperature of 265 °C, and a film thickness of 120 nm exhibited the lowest residual stress of −0.195 GPa.

Based on additive manufacturing via photopolymerization, this study combines polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) technology with 3D printing technology to produce tunable micro-optical components with switchable diffraction or focusing characteristics. The diffraction grating and Fresnel zone plate are the research targets. Their structures are designed and simulated to achieve expected optical functions. A liquid crystal display (LCD) 3D printer is used to produce structures on transparent conductive substrates. The printed structures are filled with PDLCs and covered with transparent conductive substrates to achieve tunable functions. The proposed configurations are implemented and verified. The experimental results show that the diffraction efficiency of the 0th order increases from 15% to 50% for the diffraction grating and the focusing spot intensity decreases from 74% to 12% after the application of an electric field. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed tunable optical component configurations.

We present a high-sensitivity fiber optic soil moisture sensor based on side-polished multimode fibers and lossy mode resonance (LMR). The multimode fibers (MMFs), after side-polishing to form a D-shaped structure, are coated with a single-layer SnO2 thin film by electron beam evaporation with ion-assisted deposition technology. The LMR effect can be obtained when the refractive index of the thin film is positive and greater than its extinction coefficient and the real part of the external medium permittivity. The D-shaped fiber optic soil moisture sensor was placed in soil, allowing moisture to penetrate into the thin film microstructure, and it observed the resonance wavelength shift in LMR spectra to measure the relative humidity change in soil. Meanwhile, an Arduino electronic soil moisture sensing module was used as the experimental control group, with soil relative humidity ranging from 10%RH to 90%RH. We found that the D-shaped fiber with a residual thickness of 93 μm and SnO2 thin film thickness of 450 nm had a maximum sensitivity of 2.29 nm/%RH, with relative humidity varying from 10%RH to 90%RH. The D-shaped fiber also demonstrates a fast response time and good reproducibility.

A projection lens with a 30-degree field of view is developed for use in augmented reality (AR) glasses, including a waveguide combiner designed for a 0.35-inch LCoS panel. The entrance pupil diameter of the lens is 14 mm and the lens has an effective focal length of 16.443 mm; an F-number of 1.175. This paper has four key issues: optical projection lens design, lens manufacturing and assembly tolerance analysis, projection lens resolution testing, and AR glasses system resolution testing of panel images projected by the projection lens. After lens manufacture, the lens was tested, achieving a central field image quality of 57 cycles/mm, an angular resolution of 33 pixels per degree (PPD), a 0.7 field image quality of 40.3 cycles/mm, and an angular resolution of 23 pixels per degree (PPD). Imaging performance testing based on a diffraction-type waveguide shows a resolution of 57 cycles/mm in the center area and an angular resolution of 33 PPD.

Abstract This study investigated the influence of large-diameter multifocal contact lenses on the ocular surface, visual quality, and visual function for presbyopic adults with dry eye syndromes. The study enrolled 40–55-year-old adults with presbyopia and dry eye syndromes (DES). The subjects were randomly assigned to three groups wearing different designs of contact lenses (Proclear, SMR, and Optimum) for 6–8 h a day for two weeks. Ocular surface health, tear quality, visual quality, and visual function were measured before and after lens wear. No significant difference was observed across all three groups for the amount of conjunctival redness, blink frequency (lens on), and stereopsis vision before and after wearing. Although there seemed to be a significant declining trend for corneal staining and limbal redness, non-invasive tear break-up time (TBUT), and lipid layer thickness while lens wear, the measured values were all within the normal range. Vice-versa after lens removal, results also showed significant improvement on lipid layer thickness, blink frequency (lens off), and contact TBUT. A significant improvement was observed in the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the total area ratio after wearing contact lenses. In contrast, the MTF of the high-order aberration area ratio resulting from lens wear was lower than that of the baseline measurement. There are also significant improvements observed for SMR and Optimum regarding near visual acuity, near point of accommodation, and the subjective questionnaire (OSDI and VBP) scores. Although it is difficult to avoid a specific negative impact on the ocular surface and tear film, visual function and visual quality can still be positively improved, especially shown on larger diameter and distance-center designed multifocal contact lenses.

This study presents the optimal process parameters of zirconium nitride (ZrN) thin films prepared by ion-assisted deposition (IAD) technology combined with electron-beam evaporation based on plasma surface treatment and the Taguchi method. We use Minitab statistical software (Version 20.2.0) and L9 orthogonal array parameter design combined with the response surface method (RSM). The quadratic polynomial regression equation was optimized by the RSM. Based on the control factor screening test of the Taguchi method, we determined the most critical factor combination for the process and derived the optimized process parameters of the ZrN thin films. In the coating experiments, we successfully achieved the optimal combination of good refractive index, adequate residual stress, and lower surface roughness on B270 glass substrates. These results indicate that the optimized preparation process can simultaneously achieve several desirable properties, improving the performance and application of ZrN thin films. Furthermore, our research method not only reduces the number of experiments and costs but also improves the efficiency of research and development. By screening key factors and optimizing process parameters, we can find the best process parameter more rapidly, reduce the demand for expenses given materials and equipment costs, and contribute to improving the electron-beam evaporation process. According to the experimental results, it can be observed that under certain conditions, the properties of ZrN thin films reached optimal values. These results are highly useful for optimizing the process parameters of ZrN thin films and provide a basis for further improvement of the thin film properties.

This study aims to investigate the thermomechanical properties of vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films. A VO2 thin film was simultaneously deposited on B270 and H-K9L glass substrates by electron-beam evaporation with ion-assisted deposition. Based on optical interferometric methods, the thermal–mechanical behavior of and thermal stresses in VO2 films can be determined. An improved Twyman–Green interferometer was used to measure the temperature-dependent residual stress variations of VO2 thin films at different temperatures. This study found that the substrate has a great impact on thermal stress, which is mainly caused by the mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the film and the substrate. By using the dual-substrate method, thermal stresses in VO2 thin films from room temperature to 120 °C can be evaluated. The thermal expansion coefficient is 3.21 × 10−5 °C−1, and the biaxial modulus is 517 GPa.

This study proposes a three-lens design with a short lens length and explores the curved imaging plane and performs a relative illumination analysis. There are two ways to reduce the lens length: shortening the back focal and lens group lengths. We derived the relevant parameter relationships of three lenses using the first-order geometric optics theory. The optical lens length can be controlled within 2 mm. The shorter the lens length, the larger the angle of the chief ray in the image space, resulting in an increase in the field curvature and astigmatism. Third-order Seidel aberrations can be effectively reduced by a curved image plane. We also derived the equations for relative illuminance, solid angle, surface transmittance, and internal transmittance for the short three-lens design. The optical lens design uses a curved image plane to shorten the distance from the off-axis beam image space to the image plane and reduce the incident angle of the chief ray on the image plane. The formula and design results verified by Code V software (version 11.2) show that both the solid angle and relative contrast of the lens can be increased. For the proposed three-lens design with a short lens length, the semi-field angle is 32°, F/# is 2.7, the effective focal length is 1.984 mm, the image plane area is 2.16 mm × 1.22 mm, and the curvature radius of the concave image plane is 3.726 mm. Moroever, the MTF (100 lp/mm) is larger than 52%, the lateral color aberration is less than 2.12 μm, the optical distortion is less than 2.00%, and the relative illumination is greater than 68%.

Abstract Theoretically, contact lenses change the accommodation and vergence demands of the eyes and directly or indirectly influence binocular vision. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of different optical designs of contact lenses on binocular vision and visual behavior among young adults. In this randomized, single-blinded experimental study, visual behavioral performance (VBP) and Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaires were used for preliminary screening. Nineteen myopic subjects aged 20–26 years (21.59 ± 1.40 years) participated in the study. Baseline values for subjective refraction and binocular visual functions were evaluated. All the subjects were randomly grouped to wear different optical designs of single-vision, progressive, and bifocal contact lenses. Eye examinations were performed on the first day (CL baseline), 2nd week, and 4th week of wearing the lenses. In addition, subjects completed the VBP and visual quality questionnaire again at the end of the examination. Single-vision contact lenses (Lens 1) increased accommodative lag, negative relative accommodation, and distant and near vergence; however, vergence facilities, accommodative facilities, heterophoria, and the comfort and posture balance dimensions in the VBP questionnaire were improved. Progressive contact lenses (Lens 2) reduced the lag of accommodation and near vergence; in addition, vergence facilities and accommodative facilities were also improved. Bifocal contact lenses (Lens 3) affected negative and positive relative accommodation, but vergence facilities and accommodative facilities also progressed. Furthermore, both progressive (Lens 2) and bifocal (Lens 3) contact lenses enhanced overall visual behavioral performance. In terms of visual quality, single-vision contact lenses (Lens 1) were the most comfortable, progressive and bifocal contact lenses reduced distant visual acuity and stability, progressive contact lenses (Lens 2) had more complaints about halos at night, and bifocal contact lens (Lens 3) users were more likely to have double vision. Compared with single-vision contact lenses, progressive and bifocal contact lenses relaxed accommodation, reduced the lag of accommodation, and improved visual behavioral performance. Although the vergence function showed a significant change, it did not show worse trends when wearing contact lenses. Contact lenses with different optical designs have a great influence on binocular vision and visual behavioral performance.

The size of the optical zoom system is important in smartphone camera design, especially as it governs the thickness of the smartphone. We present the optical design of a miniaturized 10× periscope zoom lens for smartphones. To achieve the desired level of miniaturization, the conventional zoom lens can be replaced with a periscope zoom lens. In addition to this change in the optical design, the quality of the optical glass, which also affects the performance of the lens, must be considered. With advancements in the optical glass manufacturing process, aspheric lenses are becoming more widely used. In this study, aspheric lenses are incorporated into a design for a 10× optical zoom lens with a lens thickness of less than 6.5 mm and an eight-megapixel image sensor. Furthermore, tolerance analysis is carried out to prove its manufacturability.

In this study, the design of a Digital-twin human-machine interface sensor (DT-HMIS) is proposed. This is a digital-twin sensor (DT-Sensor) that can meet the demands of human-machine automation collaboration in Industry 5.0. The DT-HMIS allows users/patients to add, modify, delete, query, and restore their previously memorized DT finger gesture mapping model and programmable logic controller (PLC) logic program, enabling the operation or access of the programmable controller input-output (I/O) interface and achieving the extended limb collaboration capability of users/patients. The system has two main functions: the first is gesture-encoded virtual manipulation, which indirectly accesses the PLC through the DT mapping model to complete control of electronic peripherals for extension-limbs ability by executing logic control program instructions. The second is gesture-based virtual manipulation to help non-verbal individuals create special verbal sentences through gesture commands to improve their expression ability. The design method uses primitive image processing and eight-way dual-bit signal processing algorithms to capture the movement of human finger gestures and convert them into digital signals. The system service maps control instructions by observing the digital signals of the DT-HMIS and drives motion control through mechatronics integration or speech synthesis feedback to express the operation requirements of inconvenient work or complex handheld physical tools. Based on the human-machine interface sensor of DT computer vision, it can reflect the user’s command status without the need for additional wearable devices and promote interaction with the virtual world. When used for patients, the system ensures that the user’s virtual control is mapped to physical device control, providing the convenience of independent operation while reducing caregiver fatigue. This study shows that the recognition accuracy can reach 99%, demonstrating practicality and application prospects. In future applications, users/patients can interact virtually with other peripheral devices through the DT-HMIS to meet their own interaction needs and promote industry progress.

This study demonstrates the low-temperature (

In this study, three amorphous oxide thin films are prepared by an electron beam evaporation combined with ion-assisted deposition technique. With the aid of optical flux mapping method, thin film thickness distribution with good uniformity can be obtained by appropriate coating masks. Three metal oxide single-layer thin films are SiO2, Ta2O5 and Nb2O5, respectively. These thin films were deposited on a substrate holder with a radius of 275 mm that was divided into five different segments. Based on the optical flux mapping method, we can effectively simulate the geometric dimensions of the coating mask and obtain the width of the coating mask at different segments. If the film thickness uniformity is a function of masking area and center angle, it is necessary to determine the thickness distribution of the different segments and use a surface profiler to accurately measure the film thickness. We analyzed the thickness uniformity of three oxide films deposited at five different segments. The experimental measurement results show that the deviation of thickness uniformity is 0.38% for SiO2, 0.36% for Ta2O5, and 0.15% for Nb2O5 thin films, respectively.

This paper proposes an optimization algorithm combined with an illustration method to select the three best glass materials for the design of a thickened triplet lens and a correction of the paraxial chromatic aberrations. In the thin lens thickening process, chromatic aberration arises from the deviation between the real and paraxial chromatic aberrations. To solve this problem, we propose an optimization algorithm and illustration method, which are integrated into a thickened triplet lens design. We optimize the eight thickened triplet lens groups to obtain the longitudinal chromatic aberration curve for the best group in the visible light range from 0.4861 μm to 0.6563 μm. The chromatic aberration curve area is 3.33 × 10−7 (μm × mm) for the longitudinal chromatic aberration and 2.11 × 10−5 (μm × mm) for the lateral chromatic aberration. Finally, the chromatic aberration of the thicken triplet lens is close to that of the thin triplet lens design, and the proposed method can obtain a good optical performance.

This paper presents a miniaturized design of a 2× zoom lens for application to a one-megapixel image sensor in a capsule endoscope. The zoom lens is composed of four lenses, including three plastic aspheric lenses and one glass spherical lens, and adopts a three-lens group design. This capsule endoscope is mainly for observation of the small intestine, which has a radius of about 12.5 mm. The height of the object is thus set to 12.5 mm. The object surface is designed to be curved surface with a radius of curvature of 15 mm. The focal length of the zoom lens ranges from 1.064 mm to 2.039 mm, and the full angle of view ranges from 60° to 143°, the f-number is F/2.8–F/3.5, the zoom lens is 11.6 mm in length, and the maximum effective diameter of the zoom lens is 6 mm. The zoom lens design is divided into six segments, corresponding to the different magnifications from Zoom 1 to Zoom 6. The magnification ratios are −0.0845, −0.0984, −0.1150, −0.1317, −0.1482, and −0.1690, respectively. Comparing the positions from Zoom 1 to Zoom 6, the maximum optical distortion is −14.89% for the Zoom 1 and 1.45% for the Zoom 6. The maximum vertical video distortion is 8.19% for Zoom 1 and 1.00% for Zoom 6. At a 1.0 field of view, the minimum relative illuminance is 71.8% at a magnification of M = −0.1317. Finally, we perform the tolerance analysis and lens resolution analysis at different zooming positions. Our design can obtain high-quality images for capsule endoscope.

This paper presents the optimization design of a miniaturized five-element wide-angle fisheye lens using a deep learning algorithm. Zemax optical design software was used to simulate and optimize the wide-angle fisheye lens. A deep learning algorithm helped to find the best combination of different lens materials. We first used six lens elements as an initial configuration to design miniaturized wide-angle fisheye lenses using the optimization process. The optical system components were gradually decreased to five lens elements. Both OKP4HT and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) plastic aspheric lenses were selected to replace the second spherical glass lens in the original design. We propose two types of wide-angle fisheye lens designs with four spherical lenses and one aspheric lens. The results for these designs indicated a viewing angle of 174°, a total length of less than 15 mm, a spot size of less than 6 μm, lateral color within ±1 μm, field curvature within ±0.02 mm, and F-θ distortion of ±3.5%. In addition, the MTF value was larger than 0.4 at the spatial frequency of 100 cycles/mm.

A periodic electric field is generated in the grating-like electrodes cell by an applied voltage and results in the reorientation of liquid crystals. The linearly polarized probe beam experienced periodic distribution of refractive index and formed a phase grating. He-Ne laser was used as the probe beam to detect the zeroth-order (o) and first-order (+1) diffraction intensities. The experimental results showed that the diffraction grating can be switched on by applying a small voltage. The optimal first-order diffraction efficiency is about 12%. The dependence of the first-order diffraction efficiency on the polarization of the probed beam is also discussed herein.

This study reported the photoluminescence (PL) of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) doped planar nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) and observed around 64% enhancement in PL intensity with suitable doping amounts of GNPs in liquid crystals 5CB. The enhancement in PL intensity has been attributed to the increased surface area from GNPs, which results in increased emissions due to the increased scattering of excitation. The subsequent decay of PL intensity with doping more amounts of GNPs in liquid crystals 5CB was due to the aggregation of the GNPs, which resulted in decayed emissions due to the decay of the scattering of excitation. The concentration and the size of GNPs, as well as the orientation of the LCs’ director, with respect to the excitation, which depend on the intensity of the PL, were also investigated.

This paper presents a high sensitivity liquid refractive index (RI) sensor based on lossy mode resonance (LMR) effect. The D-shaped fibers coated with nanosized titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin film as a sensing head were submerged into different refractive index solutions. The variations in the optical spectrum of the proposed RI sensor with different refractive index solutions were measured. The LMR resonance peaks were used to determine the wavelength shifts with different refractive index solutions. The results show that the optical spectrum peaks shifted towards the longer wavelength side with increasing the refractive index. For the proposed fiber sensing head with a polishing residual thickness of 72 μm, the maximum shift of the absorption peak was 264 nm. The sensitivity of the proposed RI sensor was 4122 nm/RIU for the refractive index range from 1.333 to 1.398.

This study presents the effect of oxygen flow rate on the optical, electrical, and mechanical properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films prepared by the DC magnetron sputtering technique. The oxygen flow rate was varied from 10 to 50 sccm. The ITO thin films deposition under different oxygen flow rates exhibits different properties. We used an optical spectrometer to measure the optical transmittance and a four-point probe instrument to determine the resistivity. A home-made Twyman-Green interferometer was used to evaluate residual stress and a microscopic interferometer was used to measure the surface roughness of ITO thin films. The experimental results show that the average optical transmittance is larger than 85% in visible range; the electrical resistivity has a minimum 6.85×10-4 ohm-cm for the oxygen flow of 10 sccm. The residual stress is varied from −0.15 GPa to −0.34 GPa in the range of 10–50 sccm. The root-mean-square (rms) surface roughness is changed from 2.64 nm to 2.74 nm as the oxygen flow rate increases. The results show that the oxygen flow rate has significant influence on the electrical resistivity, residual stress, and surface roughness of the ITO thin film.

Light leakage from liquid crystal displays in the dark state is relatively larger and leads to a degraded contrast ratio and color shift. This work describes a novel colorimetric model based on the Muller matrix that includes depolarization of light propagating through liquid crystal molecules, polarizers, and color filters. In this proposed model, the chromaticity can be estimated in the bump and no-bump regions of an LCD. We indicate that the difference between simulation and measurement of chromaticity is about 0.01. Light leakage in the bump region is three times that in no-bump region in the dark state.

The luminous properties of red, green, and yellow phosphors with a blue LED are evaluated and a corresponding optical model is constructed using the optical simulation software LightTools®. According to the phosphor particle model, the desired chromaticity coordinate of the multicomponent light which is excited by a blue LED can be achieved by modifying the weight concentration of the phosphors. A comparison of the four types of LED package modules tested shows that the yellow phosphor encapsulated with a semispherical module takes up a lesser percentage of the total weight percentage of a constructed white light with a correlated color temperature of around 4000 K. The simulation and experimental results provide a cross-reference for better packaging and encapsulating designs for lumen improvement.

We present the structure and the optical and mechanical properties of highly conductive PEDOT:PSS (1:2.5 wt%, PH1000) thin films fabricated with and without an immersion treatment process using a solution containing 67% ethylene glycol and 33% hexafluoro-isopropyl alcohol, by volume. The enhanced electrical conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS thin films originated from the formation of a conducting PEDOT network in combination with an increased electron concentration due to the conformational changes in the PEDOT chains. The modified PEDOT:PSS thin film was used as a transparent anode electrode for P3HT:PCBM blended film-based photovoltaics, resulting in a power conversion efficiency of 3.28% under 1-sun illumination.

In this study, a rapid and accurate optical axis alignment technique of a reflective beam expander composed of convex and concave off-axis parabolic mirrors was established by using (a) five parallel lasers and (b) shear interferometry. The five parallel lasers are placed on the top, bottom, left, and right sides, and center of the disc fixture, forming a circular symmetrical distribution and parallel to each other. Since the convex and concave off-axis parabolic mirrors are both confocal systems, the central laser of the five parallel laser beams is incident along the optical axis of the reflective beam expander, and the surrounding four beams diverge outward after the first reflection of the convex off-axis parabolic mirror, and these diverging laser beams converge inward after the second reflection of the concave off-axis parabolic mirror, so that the four output beams are parallel to each other, maintaining a circular distribution and a large diameter, but the divergence angle is relatively small relative to the incidence. The optical plate with excellent parallelism is placed in front of the collimated beam at an angle of 45°. The reflected beams on both sides of the optical plate are expected to interfere. In this study, this shear interferometry method was used to measure the collimation of a parallel beam after passing through a reflective beam expander. In this experiment, a HeNe laser was used as the light source, and its wavelength and beam diameter were 0.6328 μm and 3 mm, respectively. The test sample is a beam expander with a magnification of 2× and an incident beam diameter of 3 mm. After 30 repeated tests, the experimental results showed that the beam diameter increased to 5.78 mm and that the magnification accuracy was 96.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the influence of film thickness on the electrical and mechanical properties of transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films. Two groups of ITO thin films deposited on unheated substrates were prepared by the radio-frequency magnetron sputtering technique. The biaxial residual stress and surface roughness for two groups of ITO thin films were measured by a Twyman --Green interferometer and a Linnik microscopic interferometer, respectively. The electrical resistivity of the ITO films was measured by a four-point probe apparatus, the thickness was determined mechanically with a profilometer. The measurement results show that the average resistivity of ITO thin films decreases with increasing the deposited thickness. The compressive residual stress in the ITO thin films decreases with increasing the deposited thickness. We also find that an anisotropic stress in the two groups of ITO films is more compressive in a certain direction. The RMS surface roughness in the two groups of ITO films is less than 1 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]