3m Innovative Properties Company

Solventum Intellectual Properties Company

Edward J Kivel

Timothy J Nevitt

Michael F Weber

Ryan T Fabick

Timothy J Hebrink

John Allen Wheatley

Stephen A Johnson

Gilles J Benoit

Rolf W Biernath

Zhaohui Yang

William B Black

Andrew John Ouderkirk

Matthew B Johnson

Craig R Schardt

David G Freier

Kristopher J Derks

William J Bryan

Mark B O'Neill

Laurence R Gilbert

Myron K Jordan

Audrey A Sherman

Kenneth L Smith

Adam D Haag

Raghunath Padiyath

Ta-Hua Yu

Guanglei Du

Daniel J Schmidt

Steven D Solomonson

Lan Hong Liu

Bharat R Acharya

Robert M Biegler

Jason W Bjork

Yufeng Liu

Todd A Ballen

Matthew E Sousa

Victor Ho

James A Klein

Benjamin J Bending

Daniel J McGurran

Theresa J Gerten

Jeffrey A Boettcher

Stephen J Strauss

Christopher W A Krohe

Dawn V Muyres

Stephen J Kuncio

Daniel M Czuprynski

Mitsuhiro M Kominami

Mark August Roehrig

John A Wheatley

Jordan D Whitney

Tracey D Sorensen

Mark B O'NEILL

An optical device for sensing a presence of an analyte in a person includes a light source, an optical stack, and a reader. The light source emits a first light having a first wavelength. The optical stack is placed on the a skin of the person and includes a sensor material and an optical filter. The sensor material emits a second light having a second wavelength when irradiated with the first light. An optical property of the second light is sensitive to the presence of the analyte. The optical filter is disposed on the sensor material and includes at least ten microlayers. The optical filter has different first and second transmittances at the respective first and second wavelengths.

Optical stack, optical device and optical construction

An optical film including a plurality of alternating first and second layers disposed on a skin layer is described. The skin layer has an average thickness greater than about 2 microns. A transmittance of the film for substantially normally incident light includes a band edge separating first and second wavelength ranges, where each range is at least 250 nm wide. A reflectance of the film is greater than about 95% for each wavelength in the first wavelength range; an average transmittance of the film is greater than about 80% in the second wavelength range; and a difference between maximum and minimum values of the optical transmittance of the film in the second wavelength range is less than about 30%. The band edge may have a slope that is greater than about 2%/nm. The transmittance may increase monotonically at least from about 10% to about 70% with increasing wavelength.

Optical film

A multilayer optical film includes a plurality of polymeric layers arranged sequentially adjacent to each other. A difference in thickness between spaced apart first and second polymeric layers in the plurality of polymeric layers is less than about 10%. Each polymeric layer that is disposed between the first and second polymeric layers has a thickness less than about 400 nm. Each layer in a group of at least three polymeric layers in the plurality of polymeric layers that are disposed between the first and second polymeric layers has a thickness greater than an average thickness of the first and second polymeric layers by about 20% to about 500%. The group of at least three polymeric layers includes at least one pair of immediately adjacent polymeric layers.

Multilayer optical film

Broadband visible reflectors are disclosed. In particular, broadband visible reflectors with reduced on-axis blue reflectivity are described. Broadband visible reflectors that appear yellow in reflection are described. Such broadband visible reflectors may be used in backlights and displays.

Broadband visible reflector

Multilayer infrared (IR) reflecting films are provided. An optical repeating unit of the film include a plurality of optical polymeric layers arranged to reflect light by constructive and destructive interference. Optical layer A is a high refractive index polymeric layer, and optical layer B is a low refractive index isotropic polymeric layer containing fluoropolymers. The film has an average reflectance of about 50% to about 100% in a near infrared wavelength range of about 850 nm to about 1850 nm, and an average transmission of about 70% to about 90% in a visible light range.

Visibly transparent broadband infrared mirror films having fluoropolymers and 7:1:1:7:1:1 layer thickness ratio

Thin multilayer reflectors are described. In particular, thin multilayer reflectors that partially transmit blue light and reflect green and red light are described. The thin multilayer reflectors have a uniform left bandedge across each dimension of the film, wherein the location of the left bandedge varies in a range of no more than 10% of the average left bandedge across that dimension.

Thin multilayer reflector with uniform left bandedge

An optical filter including a polarizer and a visible light blocking filter is described. The polarizer is configured to transmit at least 60 percent of light in a first infrared wavelength range that is incident on the polarizer at normal incidence in a first polarization state, to transmit less than 30 percent of light in a second infrared wavelength that is incident on the polarizer at normal incidence in a second polarization state orthogonal to the first polarization state, and to transmit less than 30 percent of light in a third infrared wavelength range that is incident on the polarizer with a 50 degree angle of incidence in the second polarization state. The visible light blocking filter configured to transmit at least 60 percent of light in the first infrared wavelength range at normal incidence in the first polarization state.

Optical filter

An optical film including alternating polymeric layers and having distinct first, second and third reflection bands is described. The first, second and third reflection bands are each visible reflection bands at normal incidence for at least one polarization state. At least two of the first, second and third reflection bands are third order or higher order harmonics.

Optical film having third or higher order visible reflection bands

Processing tapes for use in preparing optical articles include a thermally stable tape backing and a low tack adhesive layer at least partially coated on tape backing. The low tack adhesive layer includes a crosslinked, polyester-containing (meth)acrylate-based polymer that is essentially free of volatile components, is unchanged after heat aging of 150 C for 1 hour under a pressure of 4.31 kiloPascals, and is able to removably adhere to the anti-reflective, nanostructured surface coating of an optical construction.

Processing tape for optical articles

A birefringent polyester film includes naphthalate units, ethylene units, a titanate compound, a planar branching unit, and 1 to 80 ppm metal content. The birefringent polyester film has an out-of-plane birefringence of at least 0.1 at 633 nm.

Birefringent polyester film with low haze having specified Tan Delta value

A multilayer optical film including a stack of microlayers arranged into optical repeat units. At a design angle of incidence, such as normal incidence, the stack provides a 1order reflection band, a 2order reflection band, and optionally a 3order reflection band. The 2order reflection band substantially overlaps the 1and/or 3order reflection bands to form a single wide reflection band. The wide reflection band may cover at least a portion of visible and infrared wavelengths. The multilayer optical film may include an additional optical layer which maybe be an anti-glare layer and/or may be an absorbing layer. The multilayer optical film is suitable for use as a window film.

Multilayer optical film having overlapping harmonics

A broadband mirror, polarizer, or other reflector includes at least one stack of microlayers. Microlayers in the stack are arranged into optical repeat units. At a design angle of incidence such as normal incidence, the stack provides a 1order reflection band, a 2order reflection band, and optionally a 3order reflection band. The 2order reflection band overlaps, or substantially overlaps, the 1and/or 3order reflection bands to form a single wide reflection band. The wide reflection band may include the 2and 1but not a 3order reflection band, or the 2and 3but not the 1order reflection band, or it may include the 1, 2, and 3order reflection bands, as well as still higher order reflection bands. The wide reflection band may cover at least a portion of visible and infrared wavelengths.

Multilayer stack with overlapping harmonics for wide visible-infrared coverage

A broadband mirror, polarizer, or other reflector includes separate stacks of microlayers. Microlayers in each stack are arranged into optical repeat units, and the stacks are arranged in series. At a design angle of incidence such as normal incidence, the second stack provides a second 1order reflection band and a distinct second 2order reflection band with a second spectral pass band therebetween. The first stack provides a first 1order reflection band that fills the second spectral pass band such that a single wide reflection band is formed that includes the first 1order reflection band, the second 1order reflection band, and the second 2order reflection band. In some cases, the single wide reflection band can include a first 2order reflection band of the first stack. In some cases, the first and second stacks may have apodized portions which monotonically deviate from respective baseline portions.

Multilayer stack combinations with interleaved overlapping harmonics for wide visible infrared coverage

Growing community of inventors

Stillwater, MN, United States of America

Edward J Kivel