3m Innovative Properties Company

Cortec Corporation

3m Innovation Properties Company

Kristy A Gillette

Thomas P Klun

Moses Mekala David

Richard John Pokorny

Brant Ulrick Kolb

Matthew B Johnson

Michelle Lund Toy

Zhaohui Yang

William Blake Kolb

Carl A Stover

Patricia M Savu

Adam D Haag

Margarita Kharshan

Alla Furman

Jonah Shaver

Joseph P Attard

Robert T Kean

Brianna N Nieson

Eileen M Franey

Jason S Petaja

Seong Taek Lee

Stephan J Pankratz

Brianna N Wheeler

Jeffrey W Hagen

John F VanDerlofske, Iii

Gary Timothy Boyd

Encai Hao

Nicholas A Johnson

Boris A Miksic

Joan M Noyola

Robert M Emmons

Steven P Floeder

Graham M Clarke

Arthur L Kotz

Thomas J Ludemann

Martin E Denker

James E Lockridge

Owen M Anderson

Chad M Amb

David T Ask

Naota Sugiyama

David A Rosen

Michael L Ruegsegger

Jon P Nietfeld

Nicholas L Untiedt

Eric D Shockey

Guy M Kallman

William J Gray

Edward C Roberts

Sherie A Kristie

Tim Whited

Carley A Haroldson

Trevor W Stolber

John F Iii Vanderlofske

An optical construction includes a lens layer having a structured first major surface including a plurality of microlenses; an optical filter disposed on the lens layer; an optically opaque mask layer disposed between the lens layer and the optical filter and defining a plurality of openings therein; and a low index layer disposed on the optical filter. For a first wavelength in a visible wavelength range, a second wavelength that can be in an infrared wavelength range, the optical filter has: an optical transmission of greater than about 50% for the first wavelength for each of a first incident angle of less than about 10 degrees and a second incident angle of greater than about 30 degrees, and for the second wavelength, an optical transmission of less than about 15% for the first incident angle and of greater than about 30% for the second incident angle.

Optical construction

A glass laminate including first and second glass layers, a reflective film having opposed first and second major surfaces and disposed between the first and second glass layers with the first and second major surfaces facing the respective first and second glass layers, a first adhesive layer disposed between and bonding together the first glass layer and the reflective film, and a second adhesive layer disposed between and bonding together the second glass layer and the reflective film is described. The second adhesive layer is thicker than the first adhesive layer such that the first major surface of the reflective film is separated from an outermost major surface of the first glass layer by a distance d1, the second major surface of the reflective film is separated from an outermost major surface of the second glass layer by a distance d2, and 0.05≤d1/d2≤0.9.

Glass laminate including reflective film

An optical stack includes an optical film () and an optical adhesive () disposed on the optical film. The optical adhesive has a major structured surface facing away from the optical film that includes a plurality of channels formed therein. The channels define a plurality of substantially flat land regions therebetween. The land regions include at least about 50% of a total surface area of the major structured surface. When the optical stack is placed on a support surface with the major structured surface of the optical adhesive contacting the support surface, the optical stack bonds to the support surface and may be removed from, or slidingly repositioned on, the support surface without damage to the optical adhesive or the support surface, and upon application of at least one of heat and pressure, the optical stack substantially permanently bonds to the support surface and the plurality of channels substantially disappear.

Optical stack

A coating composition includes a first polymer and a second polymer that are incompatible and non-reactive with one another. The absolute value of the difference between the refractive index of the first polymer and the refractive index of the second polymer is about 0 to about 0.01. The first polymer and the second polymer are soluble in a carrier liquid that is a good solvent for the first polymer and a poor solvent for the second polymer. The carrier liquid is removed from the coating layer to spinodally decompose the mixture of the first polymer and the second polymer in an amount sufficient to form a substantially continuous first phase with a predominant amount of the first polymer and a substantially discontinuous second phase with a predominant amount the second polymer. At least 70% of the second phase includes droplets with an aspect ratio, when viewed in the plane of the surface of the substrate, of less than about 3.

Textured coating for optical products

An integral optical stack includes a lens film having first and second major surfaces. The first major surface includes microlenses having an average peak-to-valley height PV. A light absorbing layer is disposed on the lens film and defines a plurality of openings. A substantially planarizing optically diffusive layer is disposed on the first major surface of the lens film, conforming to the microlenses. The optically diffusive layer includes a plurality of nanoparticles. A polymeric material bonds the nanoparticles to each other to form a plurality of nanoparticle aggregates defining a plurality of voids therebetween. The optically diffusive layer has an average thickness greater than about 8 microns, and an index of refraction of less than about 1.25. Any non-planarity of a major surface of the optically diffusive layer due to the microlenses of the first major surface has an average peak-to-valley height PV, PV≤0.7 PV

Optical stacks for detection systems

An integral optical construction includes a lens layer including a structured first major surface having a plurality of microlenses. An optically opaque mask layer is disposed on the lens layer and defines a plurality of openings. Each of the openings extends from a first major surface of the mask layer facing the lens layer to an opposite second major surface of the mask layer. The openings are in a one-to-one correspondence with the microlenses. Regions of the mask layer between the openings have an optical density of greater than about 2 for at least a first visible wavelength in a visible wavelength range. An optical adhesive layer is disposed on, and makes physical contact with, the second major surface of the mask layer. The optical adhesive layer defines a recess at each of the openings. The recess includes a closed bottom and an opposite open top open to the opening.

Optical constructions for display systems

A glass laminate () including first and second glass layers (), a reflective film () having opposed first and second major surfaces and disposed between the first and second glass layers () with the first and second major surfaces facing the respective first and second glass layers (), a first adhesive layer () disposed between and bonding together the first glass layer () and the reflective film (), and a second adhesive layer () disposed between and bonding together the second glass layer () and the reflective film () is described. The second adhesive layer () is thicker than the first adhesive layer () such that the first major surface of the reflective film () is separated from an outermost major surface of the first glass layer () by distance d, the second major surface of the reflective film () is separated from an outermost major surface of the second glass layer () by a distance d, and 0.05<d/d<0.9.

A backlight includes an extended light source adapted to emit light. A reflective polarizer is disposed on the extended light source, such that for substantially normally incident light and for at least a first wavelength in a range from about 420 nanometer (nm) to about 650 nm, the reflective polarizer reflects at least 60% of the incident light having a first polarization state and transmits at least 60% of the incident light having an orthogonal second polarization state. A first prismatic film is disposed between the extended light source and the reflective polarizer. A retarder layer is disposed between the reflective polarizer and the first prismatic film, such that for substantially normally incident light at a wavelength of about 550 nm, the retarder layer has a retardance nW, where n is an integer ≥1 and W is a wavelength between about 160 nm and about 300 nm.

Backlight for display

Rolls of film are described. In particular, rolls of film including a multilayer birefringent reflective polarizer and a polyvinyl alcohol layer are described. Such films exhibit low variation in pass axis across a full crossweb width.

Roll of film including multilayer birefringent reflective polarizer and polyvinyl alcohol layer with low pass axis variation

Rolls of film are described. In particular, rolls of film including multilayer birefringent polarizers having low pass axis variation are described. The multilayer birefringent polarizers have low pass axis variation across a full crossweb width of the roll of film.

Roll of film including multilayer birefringent reflective polarizer having low pass axis variation

Optical stacks are described. In particular, optical stacks including reflecting-absorbing polarizers and quarter-wave plates are disclosed. The optical core of the optical stack&#x2014;which includes a reflecting-absorbing polarizer with at least one skin layer including polarizing dye&#x2014;may be co-extruded or co-stretched.

Optical stack including reflective polarizer and quarter-wave plate on skin layer of absorbing polarizer

A polarizer including an oriented polymeric first layer is described. The oriented polymeric first layer is preparable from a mixture of polyvinyl alcohol and crosslinker where the crosslinker is included in the mixture at 5 to 40 percent by weight based on the total weight of the polyvinyl alcohol and crosslinker. The oriented polymeric first layer is a substantially uniaxially drawn layer, in that for U=(1/MDDR&#x2212;1)/(TDDR&#x2212;1), U is at least 0.85, with MDDR being a machine direction draw ratio and TDDR being a transverse direction draw ratio.

Polarizer

A lightguide having opposing first and second major surfaces where the first major surface includes a plurality of extended features and a plurality of discrete features is described. The lightguide has a viewable area having a length at least 100 times a thickness of the lightguide. The extended features extend in a first in-plane direction across at least 90 percent of the length L of the viewable area. The discrete features are spaced apart along the length and width of the viewable area. The discrete features may be disposed in spaces between the extended features. The discrete features may have faces extending between and connecting adjacent extended features.

Lightguide

Optical stack including reflecting-absorbing polarizer

Optical films having an optical axis with an orientation that varies along a width of the optical film and having one or more indicia recording the orientation of the optical axis at a plurality of locations in the optical film are provided. Systems and methods for producing and for converting the optical films are provided.

Optical films having an optical axis and systems and methods for processing same

Growing community of inventors

Spring Valley, WI, United States of America

Kristy A Gillette