Polaroid Corporation

Anthony J DiRocco

Edwin H Land

Leonard Polizzotto

A stainable polymeric sheet material adapted to the production of a light polarizer therefrom is provided by a method, according to which, a support sheet of amorphous polymeric material is uniaxially stretched in a first direction (at or above the glass transition temperature of the polymeric support material), a layer of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is coated from an aqueous PVA-containing composition onto the uniaxially stretched support material, and the PVA-coated uniaxially stretched polymeric sheet material is stretched along a second direction, at an angle within about .+-.60 degrees to a normal to the first direction of stretch. The method provides a material which can be converted, by incorporation of visible dichroism into the PVA layer, to a light polarizer which combines efficient light polarizing properties and good mechanical strength and resistance to fracture along the stretch directions.

Growing community of inventors

Billerica, MA, United States of America

Anthony J DiRocco