Search

Manipulating the flow of light is critical in the design and fabrication of light-based devices ranging from solar cells, smart cameras, liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, projectors and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Thin films configured with spatial patterns or modulations in refractive index exhibit strong and richly varied interactions with light beams. In this thesis, we show that embedding planar films with specific geometries of waveguide lattices allows precise control over the inflow and outflow of light. Specifically, we demonstrate the fabrication of a new class of waveguide-encoded polymer films that are generated through a single-step, room temperature technique. Here, waveguide encoded lattices with a range of symmetries are spontaneously inscribed in photopolymerizable resins by self-trapped beams of incandescent light. We describe the generation of lattices consisting of five intersecting arrays of waveguides, which confer a range of unprecedented properties including a large, panoramic field of view (FOV) infinite depth of field and multiple imaging functionalities including focusing and inversion. We have also fabricated lattices inspired by natural arthropodal compound eyes, which comprise a radial distribution of waveguide and in turn impart a continuous, enhanced FOV. We demonstrate the application of these films in controlling the beam profiles of LEDs including their divergence and convergence. Finally, we show that thin films patterned with a periodic array of planar waveguides serve as effective beam steering coatings, which deflect light away from the metallic front contacts of commercially available solar cells and in this way, increase their efficiency. Thesis Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

We use finite elements and the full Newton iteration method to solve the steady, two-dimensional flow of a Newtonian planar film, issuing from a slit under a pressure difference between the two free surfaces, in the presence of gravity and surface tension. The simulated film shapes agree with available experimental data within the range of the experimental error. © ECCOMAS. Sponsors: Commission of European Communities (EC) Generalitat de Catalunya, Comissio Interdepartamental de Recerca i Innovacio Tecnologica (CIRIT) Autoritat Portuaria de Barcelona Conference code: 102094 Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia