U.S. patent application number 15/812149 was filed with the patent office on 2018-04-05 for systems, methods, and apparatus for sensitive thermal imaging.
The applicant listed for this patent is Shaun R. BERRY, Carl O. BOZLER, Harry R. CLARK, Jeremy B. MULDAVIN, Robert K. REICH. Invention is credited to Shaun R. BERRY, Carl O. BOZLER, Harry R. CLARK, Jeremy B. MULDAVIN, Robert K. REICH.
Application Number | 20180095306 15/812149 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55437380 |
Filed Date | 2018-04-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180095306 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
REICH; Robert K. ; et
al. |
April 5, 2018 |
SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND APPARATUS FOR SENSITIVE THERMAL IMAGING
Abstract
The high-pixel-count uncooled thermal imaging arrays disclosed
herein have liquid crystal (LC) microcavity transducers separate
from the read-out integrated circuit (ROIC). The transducer
converts incident infrared (IR) radiation in birefringence changes
that can be measured with visible light. In other words, the system
uses the temperature sensitivity of the LC birefringence to convert
the IR scene to a visible image. Measurements on sample arrays
indicate that the LC material quality is similar to that of bulk
samples and has good noise performance. Additionally,
high-fill-factor arrays on fused-silica substrates may be processed
to enable optimization of conditions for greatly improved
temperature sensitivity. An additional IR absorber layer may be
integrated into the process to tune the structure for the
infrared.
Inventors: |
REICH; Robert K.;
(Tyngsborough, MA) ; CLARK; Harry R.; (Townsend,
MA) ; BOZLER; Carl O.; (Waltham, MA) ; BERRY;
Shaun R.; (Chelmsford, MA) ; MULDAVIN; Jeremy B.;
(Lawrence, MA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
REICH; Robert K.
CLARK; Harry R.
BOZLER; Carl O.
BERRY; Shaun R.
MULDAVIN; Jeremy B. |
Tyngsborough
Townsend
Waltham
Chelmsford
Lawrence |
MA
MA
MA
MA
MA |
US
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
55437380 |
Appl. No.: |
15/812149 |
Filed: |
November 14, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14845941 |
Sep 4, 2015 |
9835885 |
|
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15812149 |
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62046701 |
Sep 5, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02F 2001/133638
20130101; G02F 1/1337 20130101; G02F 1/132 20130101; G01J 5/58
20130101; H04N 5/33 20130101; G02F 2203/11 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G02F 1/13 20060101
G02F001/13; H04N 5/33 20060101 H04N005/33; G01J 5/58 20060101
G01J005/58 |
Goverment Interests
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
[0002] This invention was made with government support under
Contract No. FA8721-C-0002 awarded by the U.S. Air Force. The
government has certain rights in the invention.
Claims
1. A method for fabricating a liquid crystal cell, the method
comprising: defining a first inner surface of the liquid crystal
cell with a first inorganic layer; texturing the first inner
surface to provide a first alignment surface for aligning liquid
crystal material with respect to the first inorganic layer;
depositing a sacrificial layer on the first inner surface;
texturing a surface of the sacrificial layer to form a negative
alignment surface; depositing a second inorganic layer on the
negative alignment surface to form a second alignment surface for
aligning the liquid crystal material with respect to the second
inner surface; forming a hole in the second inorganic layer;
removing the sacrificial layer via the hole; disposing the liquid
crystal material in the liquid crystal cell via the hole; and
sealing the hole in the second inorganic layer to yield a liquid
crystal cell containing the liquid crystal material aligned with
respect to the first alignment surface and the second alignment
surface.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein texturing the first inner surface
comprises diamond lapping the first inner surface in a first
direction.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein texturing the surface of the
sacrificial layer comprises diamond lapping the surface in the
first direction.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein texturing the surface of the
sacrificial layer comprises diamond lapping the surface in a second
direction different than the first direction.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein depositing the second inorganic
layer comprises forming a cavity having a thickness of about 0.5
microns to about 10 microns.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein depositing the second inorganic
layer comprises forming a cavity having a width of about 2 microns
to about 100 microns.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein sealing the hole comprises
filling the hole with a fluoropolymer.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first inorganic layer is
disposed on another sacrificial layer, the other sacrificial layer
being disposed on a substrate, and further comprising: removing the
other sacrificial layer to form at least one thermal leg supporting
the liquid crystal cell above the substrate.
9. A liquid crystal transducer comprising: a substrate; an array of
liquid crystal cells, each liquid crystal cell in the array of
liquid crystal cells comprising: a first textured inner surface; a
second textured inner surface opposite the first textured inner
surface; and liquid crystal material disposed between and aligned
with the first textured inner surface and the second textured inner
surface; and a plurality of thermal legs, each thermal leg in the
plurality of thermal legs in physical contact with the substrate
and with a respective liquid crystal cell in the array of liquid
crystal cells to support the respective liquid crystal cell and to
thermally isolate the respective liquid crystal cell from the
substrate.
10. The liquid crystal transducer of claim 9, wherein the liquid
crystal material in at least one liquid crystal cell in the array
of liquid crystal cells has a thickness of less than about 2
.mu.m.
11. A photolithographic method for fabricating a liquid crystal
transducer, the method comprising: forming a first silicon dioxide
layer on a substrate; depositing a first sacrificial layer on top
of the silicon dioxide layer; depositing a first silicon nitride
layer on top of the first sacrificial layer to form at least one
thermal leg and a first surface of a liquid crystal cavity;
depositing a second silicon dioxide layer onto the first silicon
nitride layer; forming a first alignment surface on the first
silicon dioxide layer; depositing a second sacrificial layer on the
first alignment surface; forming a second alignment layer on the
second sacrificial layer; depositing a second silicon nitride layer
on the second alignment layer to form a second surface and sides of
the liquid crystal cavity; forming a hole in the second silicon
nitride layer; removing the second sacrificial layer via the hole;
disposing liquid crystal material in the liquid crystal cavity via
the hole; and removing the first sacrificial layer.
12. A liquid crystal transducer, comprising: a substrate; a liquid
crystal cell defining at least one sealed cavity; a thermal leg, in
physical contact with the substrate and the liquid crystal cell, to
support the liquid crystal cell and to thermally isolate the liquid
crystal cell with respect to the substrate; liquid crystal
material, disposed within the at least one sealed cavity, to vary a
birefringence of the liquid crystal cell in response to a change in
temperature; and an alignment layer, disposed on at least one
interior surface of the at least one sealed cavity, to align the
liquid crystal material with respect to the interior surface of the
at least one sealed cavity.
13. The liquid crystal transducer of claim 12, wherein the liquid
crystal cell has an optical thickness selected to resonate at a
wavelength between about 2 .mu.m and about 14 .mu.m.
14. The liquid crystal transducer of claim 12, wherein at least one
of the thermal leg or the substrate comprises silicon nitride.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application is a divisional application of U.S.
application Ser. No. 14/845,941, filed Sep. 4, 2015, and entitled
"Systems, Methods, and Apparatus for Sensitive Thermal Imaging,"
which in turn claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e), from
U.S. application Ser. No. 62/046,701, filed Sep. 5, 2014, and
entitled "Systems, Methods, and Apparatus for Sensitive Thermal
Imaging." Each of these applications is hereby incorporated herein
by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Uncooled thermal detectors have become an indispensable
sensor technology in long-wavelength infrared (LWIR; 8 to 14 .mu.m)
imaging applications. Uncooled thermal detectors have sensitivity
and resolution sufficient to replace cooled detectors in many
applications. However, the state-of-the-art uncooled sensor
technology, namely, microbolometers that sense the temperature by
measuring a voltage on a thermistor, has progressed slowly over the
past few years. Uncooled bolometers are limited in format (e.g.,
<3Mpixel) and sensitivity. And microbolometers are based on
thermistors whose resolution and sensitivity has improved slowly
over the past few years. In addition, bolometers generally require
complex fabrication methods and tend to be very expensive. For
example, the support legs of a typical microbolometer structure are
both thermally insulating and electrically conductive, which limits
achievable thermal resistance. These constraints negatively impacts
material selection, pixel size, fabrication complexity, yield, and
performance.
[0004] Liquid crystal (LC)-based detectors have been investigated
for uncooled thermal imaging since the 1970s. A liquid crystal
thermal imager senses temperature by measuring the change in
visible light flux through or reflected by a liquid crystal cell
caused by changes in the state of the liquid crystal birefringence
with temperature. As the liquid crystal cell changes temperature,
its birefringence changes, which in turn causes a change in the
polarization state of the incident visible light. Transmitting the
visible light through a polarizer (aka an analyzer) transforms the
change in the polarization state into an intensity change that can
be measured with a conventional visible light detector, such as a
charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary
metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) array. A sensitive liquid crystal
thermal image can detect small changes in temperature in the scene
(e.g., 30 mK with a pixel size of about 17 .mu.m, an f/1 lens, and
a frame rate of 30 Hz) which is synonymous with being able to
detect small changes in the infrared light flux.
[0005] Liquid crystals have a relatively large change in
birefringence with temperature (high sensitivity), easily adjusted
composition (e.g., properties such as time response, birefringence,
and noise can be modified by synthesizing different types of liquid
crystals), and can leverage an extensive manufacturing base created
for displays. To date, however, LC-based detectors have not been
successfully integrated into a detector array that has good
response in the LWIR region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The
difficulties include fabricating small pixels and filling them with
liquid crystals. In addition, the liquid crystals themselves tend
to be noisy, which degrades detector performance.
SUMMARY
[0006] Embodiments of the present invention include liquid crystal
thermal imagers and methods of thermal imaging using liquid crystal
that address the noise caused by undesired twisting, bending, and
splaying of the liquid crystals. In one example, a thermal imaging
system includes a liquid crystal transducer, a visible light source
in optical communication with the liquid crystal transducer, a
quarter-wave plate in optical communication with the liquid crystal
transducer, an analyzer in optical communication with the
quarter-wave plate, and a detector array in optical communication
with the analyzer. The liquid crystal transducer has a
birefringence F that varies as a function of the incident infrared
radiation, which may be about 2 .mu.m to about 14 .mu.m.
[0007] In operation, the visible light source illuminates the
liquid crystal transducer with a first beam of linearly polarized
visible light so as to produce a beam of elliptically polarized
visible light having a degree of ellipticity that varies in
proportion to the birefringence of the array of liquid crystal
cells. The first beam of linearly polarized light has a
polarization angle of 45.degree. with respect to a fast axis of the
liquid crystal transducer. The quarter-wave plate, which has an
optical axis aligned with the polarization angle of the first beam
of linearly polarized light, converts the beam of elliptically
polarized visible light into a second beam of linearly polarized
visible light. The analyzer polarizes the second beam of linearly
polarized visible at an angle based on the birefringence .GAMMA. of
the liquid crystal transducer. And the detector array produces an
electronic representation of the incident infrared radiation in
response to detection of the second beam of linearly polarized
visible light.
[0008] The analyzer angle may also be based on the signal-to-noise
ratio (SNR). For example, the starting analyzer angle may be
selected by measuring the SNR and finding the maximum empirically.
The analyzer angle setting depends on the wavelength, detector
noise, and liquid crystal noise.
[0009] Additional embodiments include a method for fabricating a
liquid crystal cell. Such a method may comprise defining a first
inner surface of the liquid crystal cell with a first inorganic
layer. The first inner surface is textured to provide a first
alignment surface for aligning liquid crystal material with respect
to the first inorganic layer. A sacrificial layer is deposited on
the first inner surface, and a surface of the sacrificial layer is
textured to form a negative alignment surface. A second inorganic
layer is deposited on the negative alignment surface to form a
second alignment surface for aligning the liquid crystal material
with respect to the second inner surface. A hole is formed in the
second inorganic layer, and the sacrificial layer is removed via
the hole. The liquid crystal material is disposed in the liquid
crystal cell via the hole. And the hole is sealed to yield a liquid
crystal cell containing the liquid crystal material aligned with
respect to the first alignment surface and the second alignment
surface.
[0010] Yet another embodiment includes a liquid crystal transducer
that comprises a substrate, an array of liquid crystal cells, and a
plurality of thermal legs. Each liquid crystal cell in the array of
liquid crystal cells comprises a first textured inner surface, a
second textured inner surface opposite the first textured inner
surface, and liquid crystal material (which may have a thickness of
less than about 2 .mu.m) disposed between and aligned with the
first textured inner surface and the second textured inner surface.
And each thermal leg in the plurality of thermal legs is in
physical contact with the substrate and with a respective liquid
crystal cell in the array of liquid crystal cells to support the
respective liquid crystal cell and to thermally isolate the
respective liquid crystal cell from the substrate.
[0011] Yet another embodiment includes a method for thermal imaging
of a scene. Long-wave infrared (LWIR) radiation representative of
the scene is imaged onto at least one liquid crystal transducer so
as to vary a birefringence of the at least one liquid crystal
transducer by an amount proportional to an intensity of the LWIR
radiation. The liquid crystal transducer is illuminated with
polarized light so as to vary a polarization state of the polarized
light by an amount proportional to the birefringence of the liquid
crystal transducer. The polarized light is transmitted through a
quarter-wave plate so as to transform the polarization state of the
polarized light to a linear polarization state having a rotation
angle proportional to the birefringence of the at least one liquid
crystal transducer. The polarized light is transmitted through a
linear polarizer to reduce an amplitude of the polarized light by
an amount proportional to the birefringence of the at least one
liquid crystal transducer. And the polarized light transmitted
through the linear polarizer is detected to form a representation
of the scene proportional to the intensity of the LWIR
radiation.
[0012] A further embodiment includes a liquid crystal transducer
with a substrate, a liquid crystal cell defining at least one
sealed cavity, a thermal leg in physical contact with the substrate
and the liquid crystal cell, liquid crystal material disposed
within the sealed cavity, and an alignment layer disposed on at
least one interior surface of the sealed cavity. The thermal leg
supports the liquid crystal cell and thermally isolates the liquid
crystal cell with respect to the substrate. The liquid crystal
material varies a birefringence of the liquid crystal cell in
response to a change in temperature. The alignment layer aligns the
liquid crystal material with respect to the interior surface of the
at least one sealed cavity.
[0013] Still another embodiment includes a photolithographic method
for fabricating a liquid crystal transducer. In one example, this
method comprises forming a first silicon dioxide layer on a
substrate. A first sacrificial layer is deposited on top of the
silicon dioxide layer and a first silicon nitride layer is
deposited on top of the first sacrificial layer to form at least
one thermal leg and a first surface of a liquid crystal cavity. A
second silicon dioxide layer is deposited onto the first silicon
nitride layer. A first alignment surface is formed on the first
silicon dioxide layer. A second sacrificial layer is deposited on
the first alignment surface. A second alignment layer is formed on
the second sacrificial layer. A second silicon nitride layer is
deposited on the second alignment layer to form a second surface
and sides of the liquid crystal cavity. A hole is formed in the
second silicon nitride layer. The second sacrificial layer is
removed via the hole. Liquid crystal material in the liquid crystal
cavity via the hole. And the first sacrificial layer is
removed.
[0014] It should be appreciated that all combinations of the
foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater
detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent)
are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter
disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed
subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are
contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter
disclosed herein. It should also be appreciated that terminology
explicitly employed herein that also may appear in any disclosure
incorporated by reference should be accorded a meaning most
consistent with the particular concepts disclosed herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The skilled artisan will understand that the drawings
primarily are for illustrative purposes and are not intended to
limit the scope of the inventive subject matter described herein.
The drawings are not necessarily to scale; in some instances,
various aspects of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein
may be shown exaggerated or enlarged in the drawings to facilitate
an understanding of different features. In the drawings, like
reference characters generally refer to like features (e.g.,
functionally similar and/or structurally similar elements).
[0016] FIG. 1A shows a system for thermal imaging based on
temperature sensitive LCs.
[0017] FIG. 1B shows alignment of the Senarmont compensator and
polarizing optics of FIG. lA in greater detail.
[0018] FIG. 2A is a plot of measured signal amplitude versus
analyzer rotation angle for circularly polarized light incident on
a Senarmont compensator.
[0019] FIG. 2B is a plot of the standard deviation of the signal
amplitude shown in FIG. 2A.
[0020] FIG. 2C is a plot of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) versus
analyzer rotation angle for the signal plotted shown in FIG.
2A.
[0021] FIG. 3A is a Poincare sphere diagram that shows how a
Senarmont system transforms an arbitrary elliptical polarization
state produced by propagation through a (heated) LC-filled
microcavity into a linear polarization state.
[0022] FIG. 3B shows liquid crystal twist noise on the Poincare
sphere with and without the quarter-wave plate.
[0023] FIG. 3C is a plot of simulated signal amplitude versus
analyzer rotation angle with and without the quarter-wave
plate.
[0024] FIG. 3D is a plot of the standard deviation of the signal
amplitude shown in FIG. 3C.
[0025] FIG. 3E shows propagation of the signal on the Poincare
sphere and the simulated noise before and after the quarter-wave
plate.
[0026] FIG. 4A is an illustration of a cross-section of a LC
sensing element (pixel) suitable for use in the thermal imaging
system shown in FIG. 1.
[0027] FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the pixel shown in FIG.
4A.
[0028] FIG. 4C is view of several liquid crystal pixels viewed with
polarized light
[0029] FIGS. 4D and 4E are scanning electron microscope (SEM)
photographs of a thermal pixel and arrays.
[0030] FIGS. 5A-5E show process steps in fabricating pixels in a
liquid thermal imager.
[0031] FIG. 6 is an illustration of a liquid crystal cell with
planar alignment showing location of alignment surface.
[0032] FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate a wafer-lapping technique for
creating scratches or grooves for aligning LC material with respect
to the interior surfaces of a microcavity.
[0033] FIGS. 8A and 8B shows a wafer lapping map with different
pressures and different numbers of passes to create scratches,
grooves, or alignment features.
[0034] FIG. 9A is an SEM photograph of a molybdenum layer with no
lapping.
[0035] FIG. 9B is an SEM photograph of a molybdenum layer after
four passes of lapping with 500 nm diamond film at a pressure of
4.15 psi.
[0036] FIG. 9C is an SEM photograph of a molybdenum layer after two
passes of lapping with 500 nm diamond film at a pressure of 4.15
psi.
[0037] FIG. 9D is an SEM photograph of a molybdenum layer after
four passes of lapping with 500 nm diamond film at a pressure of
1.9 psi.
[0038] FIGS. 10A and 10B are photographs of liquid crystal-filled
cavities without any alignment and with alignment,
respectively.
[0039] FIG. 11 is a graph showing signal change in digital numbers
versus frame capture for 2-mK steps with the heater for a bulk
liquid crystal cell.
[0040] FIG. 12 is a graph of power spectral density curves near the
phase transition shown in FIG. 15 with a quarter-wave plate (upper
curve) and without a quarter-wave plate (lower curve).
[0041] FIG. 13 is a graph of signal versus frame capture using
10-mK steps for a pixelated array. The inset shows a picture of a
2.times.6 array.
[0042] FIG. 14 is a graph of pixel response from blackbody
radiation source.
[0043] FIG. 15 is a graph of the order parameter (S) versus
temperature for nematic liquid crystal material.
[0044] FIGS. 16A-16C illustrate twist, bend, and splay in a liquid
crystal material aligned to a surface.
[0045] FIGS. 17A-17C are plots of simulated and measured
differential Senarmont signals and signal-to-noise ratios with
different noise sources.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0046] The liquid crystal thermal imagers disclosed herein use
Senarmont compensators to reduce liquid crystal noise for improved
performance sensitivity and/or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). More
specifically, a liquid crystal thermal imager includes a liquid
crystal transducer that transforms linearly polarized light into
elliptically polarized light, which the Senarmont compensator
transforms into linearly polarized light that is detected with the
CMOS or CCD array. By changing the polarization state of the
visible light, the Senarmont compensator reduces the effects of
twist, bend, and/or splay noise in the liquid crystals.
[0047] In some cases, the noise compensation can be good enough
that the liquid crystal thermal imager operates with a noise
equivalent temperature difference (NETD) near room-temperature
background-limited infrared performance (BLIP), which is about 10
times better than the that of the best commercially available
devices. As understood by those of skill in the art, the noise
equivalent temperature difference (NETD) is that change in scene
temperature where the signal change to noise ratio is 1. The noise
is measured or calculated from the fluctuations in the detector
(imager) and this is converted into an equivalent temperature
fluctuation. (The parameter that relates the system fluctuation
variable (e.g. voltage, current, etc.) to temperature is called the
responsivity.) A change in the image scene temperature that equals
this noise is defined as the NETD. The noise is often stated as
noise equivalent power (NEP) at the focal plane array (not the
scene) since this does not concern system parameters (e.g., lens
f#, blackbody wavelength bandwidth, exposure time). The NEP gives
the scene NETD by using the system parameters.
[0048] The liquid crystal transducer includes an array of tens to
thousands of thermally isolated cavities, or pixels, that can
contain as little of 4 picoliters of liquid crystal each. Because
of the low noise characteristic, the pixels can be scaled down in
size (e.g., to about 6 .mu.m), unlike bolometer pixels, which tend
to get noisier as they are scaled down. This array can be
fabricated using processes that involve texturing, lapping, or
scratching the pixels' interior surfaces to provide alignment
features for the liquid crystal material. The fabrication process
may include fewer mask levels (e.g., 8 mask levels as opposed to 40
or more masks used to fabricate thermistor microbolometers) and is
therefore very low cost. In addition, the fabrication process can
be used to make uniform arrays with relatively close pixel packing
that have far higher pixel counts than those used in bolometers,
which translates to wider field of view and/or higher resolution
for the imager.
[0049] For BLIP-limited noise, the noise is dominated by the
incoming light shot noise. Without being bound by any particular
theory, the noise cannot be lower than the noise associated with
the light signal. It assumes parasitic light coming from all other
surface is negligible (i.e. cold shielding is necessary and the
detector must be cooler than the image scene. For
background-limited noise performance, the signal to noise ratio
(SNR) is 1. Once the noise is known it would take a signal of the
same magnitude to get an SNR of 1. Without being bound by any
particular theory, a thermal detector generally cannot reach BLIP
because it and the uncooled surfaces radiate significant light that
also has shot noise.
[0050] Applications for liquid crystal thermal images include, but
are not limited to firefighting, night vision for automobiles,
airplane landing and takeoff, energy audits, breast cancer
detection, search and rescue, and surveillance (e.g., in security
cameras). For example, a liquid crystal thermal imager can be used
in home surveillance, medical triage, instant body temperature
monitoring to check for health issues, night vision for traveling
at night or for traveling anywhere in a car, foot, bike or
otherwise (e.g., as a companion to a Global Positioning System
receiver).
[0051] Order, Twist, Splay, and Bend Noise in Liquid Crystals
[0052] To understand thermal imager operation, some background in
liquid crystal materials is helpful. As understood by those of
ordinary skill in the art, liquid crystal materials are a state of
matter that is distinct from the usual solid, liquid, and gas
states. Nematic liquid crystal materials tend to have elongated,
uniaxial molecules (e.g., with a pencil shape) with ordinary and
extraordinary indices of refraction n.sub.e. That is, a nematic
liquid crystal material has the extraordinary index of refraction
ne for light polarized along the long axis of the averaged
molecular orientation and the ordinary index of refraction n.sub.o
along the other two orthogonal directions. The birefringence is the
difference between the two indices, An .DELTA.n=n.sub.e-n.sub.o.
The interest in liquid crystal materials as optical detectors is in
their relatively high birefringence .DELTA.n, which can be greater
than 0.6.
[0053] For the liquid crystal state of matter (in this case
nematic), the elongated axis of the molecule has a tendency to be
aligned, but the center of mass of the molecules is free to move
about as a liquid. Unlike a solid, the ordering of the long
molecular axis is not perfect. The principal axis of the molecules
thermally fluctuates about an average direction called the
"director."
[0054] FIG. 15 is a plot of the degree of order, or order
parameter, of the thermally fluctuating liquid crystal molecules.
The order parameter is defined as S=<3/2 cos.sup.2
.theta.-1/2>, where .theta. is the angle of the molecular axis
with respect to the director axis. The birefringence, .DELTA.n, is
proportional to the order parameter S and has the same temperature
dependence as the order parameter. FIG. 15 shows that operating the
thermal imager at temperatures below the phase transition between
the nematic and isotropic phases produces a roughly linear change
in order parameter (and hence in birefringence) with
temperature.
[0055] The thermal imager arrays disclosed herein exploit the
change in the order parameter with temperature, which in turn
causes a change in the birefringence. (In contrast, liquid crystal
displays are designed to have order parameters that do not change
substantially with temperature.) As well understood in the art of
optics, the two different indices of refraction cause the
electromagnetic fields to travel as two modes with different
velocities. This results in a phase change between the two
electromagnetic modes and a change in the polarization state. This
effect can be used to change the light transmission of the device
between polarizers. Therefore: a change in temperature causes a
change in the birefringence (difference in the indices of
refraction) and thus in the polarization state and subsequent
intensity of light transmitted through an analyzer.
[0056] The dependence of birefringence on liquid crystal order
parameter is different from the electro-optical effect in display
devices where the "effective" birefringence is varied by changing
the angle between the light propagation direction and the averaged
molecular orientation. In the case of the thermal imagers disclosed
herein, the change in birefringence with temperature is related to
a change in the molecular level order rather than changes in bulk
properties like viscosity or elasticity.
[0057] Unfortunately, the orientation of the liquid crystal
molecules may vary or deform for reasons other than
temperature-induced changes in order parameter. Random, undesired
deformation of the liquid crystal molecules are typically
classified as twist, bend, or splay as shown in FIGS. 16A, 16B, and
16C, respectively. Undesired twist, bend, or splay of the liquid
crystal material varies the birefringence experienced by light
propagating through the liquid crystal material, which can in turn
degrade the thermal imager signal. In other words, undesired twist,
bend, and splay of the liquid crystal material adds noise to the
thermal imager signal. This noise can be quite large especially
near the phase transition from a (nematic) liquid crystal state to
an isotropic liquid state, which is near the operating range shown
in FIG. 15.
[0058] The severity of twist, bend, and splay noise depends in part
on the thickness of the liquid crystal layer. A thinner liquid
crystal layers suppresses the liquid crystal director fluctuations.
As the layer thickness increases, the noise caused by the director
fluctuation increases super-linearly whereas the signal increases
linearly (to increase the signal on the thinner layer, a resonant
cavity can be used, but is not necessarily needed if the visible
probing light is high enough to get good sensitivity).
[0059] The variation of twist, bend, and splay noise with liquid
crystal thickness has been verified experimentally. In one example,
the noise of a 3-.mu.m thick cell was compared to a 6-.mu.m thick
cell. As expected, the noise in the 6-.mu.m thick cell was up to
four times higher than the noise in the 3-.mu.m thick cell, whereas
the signal strength was only twice as high. Without being bound to
any particular theory, this result suggests that thicker liquid
crystal layers tend to be noisier and have lower signal-to-noise
ratios (SNRs) than thinner liquid crystal layers.
[0060] An Example Uncooled Liquid Crystal Thermal Imager
[0061] FIG. 1A shows a liquid crystal thermal imager 100 that
includes a liquid crystal transducer 110 that is optically coupled
to a Senarmont compensator 130. The liquid crystal thermal imager
100 also includes an infrared (IR) lens 102 (e.g., with an F# of
0.8, 1.0, or greater), a dichroic mirror 104, a visible lens 106, a
visible light source 120 (e.g., one or more light-emitting diodes
(LEDs)), and a solid-state imager 140 that detects visible light
(e.g., a CCD or CMOS active pixel sensor). Because the liquid
crystal transducer 110 is separate from the solid-state imager 140,
the liquid crystal transducer 110 can be better optimized for
detecting the infrared signal.
[0062] The thermal imager 100 tracks fluctuations in the
birefringence of the liquid crystal material as a proxy for
temperature of the scene 10. As explained above, the birefringence
of the liquid crystal material depends on the liquid crystal order
parameter, which is a measured of the degree of order among the
liquid crystal molecules. Using the order parameter magnitude has
implications for speed as well as sensitivity. In particular,
measuring the change in the liquid crystal birefringence yields a
faster, more sensitive response than measuring the global change in
the index of refraction (e.g., as in interference detection) or
thermotropic color changes (e.g., as in twisted cholesteric liquid
crystals that use circular polarization for wavelength
selection).
[0063] In operation, the thermal imager 100 converts mid- to
long-wavelength IR light 11 (e.g., light at wavelengths of 2-14
.mu.m, 3-5 .mu.m, 5-8 .mu.m, or 8-14 .mu.m) from a scene 10 into an
electronic image 20. The IR lens 102 images IR light 11 that is
emitted and/or scattered by objects in the scene 10 through a
dichroic beam splitter 104 and onto one or more pixels 112 in the
liquid crystal transducer 110. The liquid crystal material (not
shown) in the pixels 112 absorbs the IR light 11; this causes the
liquid crystal material to increase in temperature, which in turn
causes the liquid crystal material's physical properties (index of
refraction, LC molecule pitch) to change. The changes in the liquid
crystal material's physical properties manifest themselves as a
change in the liquid crystal material's birefringence as described
in greater detail below. In some cases, the change in birefringence
with temperature can be about 0.005/.degree. C. to about
0.2/.degree. C. Similarly, reducing the intensity of the incident
IR light 11 causes the liquid crystal material to cool; this
induces a corresponding change in the liquid crystal material's
birefringence.
[0064] The thermal imager 100 senses the change in liquid crystal
birefringence by measuring the intensity of polarized visible light
12 transmitted through the liquid crystal transducer 110 Senarmont
compensator 130. Put differently, the thermal imager 100 converts
IR light 11 into visible light that can be measured with a
conventional solid-state imager 140 with relatively high dynamic
range (e.g., 60 dB), fine spatial resolution (e.g., micron-scale
pitch), and/or a large format (e.g., several megapixels). In this
case, the light source 120 emits a beam 12 of collimated, linearly
polarized visible light towards the liquid crystal transducer 110.
The beam 12 may be bandlimited (e.g., with a 10 nm passband filter)
to avoid reducing gain due to polarization dispersion. As the beam
12 propagates through the liquid crystal transducer 110, its
polarization state changes due to the birefringence of the liquid
crystal material in the pixels 112.
[0065] As explained in greater detail below with respect to FIGS.
2A-2E, the pixels 112 are suspended from a transparent substrate
114 by thermal legs 116. The thermal legs 116 thermally isolated
the pixels 112 from each other and from the transparent substrate
114 to prevent crosstalk. Thus, the temperature (and birefringence)
of each pixel 112 depends substantially on the intensity of the
incident IR light 11.
[0066] Because each pixel 112 may experience a different
temperature change and hence have a different birefringence, the
polarization state of the beam 13 transmitted through the liquid
crystal transducer 110 may vary across the liquid crystal
transducer 110. For example, pixels 112 with large birefringence
changes may transform the polarization state from a linear state to
a circular state or an elliptical state with a high degree of
ellipticity. Similarly, pixels 112 with small birefringence changes
may transform the beam's polarization from a linear state to an
elliptical state with a low degree of ellipticity (e.g., a nearly
linear state).
[0067] The polarization state of the transmitted beam 13 may also
vary in time due to temporal fluctuations in the temperature(s) of
the scene. The birefringence depends on the liquid crystal order
parameter, S, which is a molecular parameter, any change in the
temperature of the liquid crystal induces a change in birefringence
with a response time on the order of that for molecular
fluctuations (e.g., <1 microsecond). Generally, at least a
portion of the transmitted beam 13 has an elliptical polarization
state due to thermally induced changes in the birefringence of the
liquid crystal transducer 110.
[0068] The dichroic mirror 104 reflects the visible, elliptically
polarized beam 13 towards a visible lens 106 with a moderate to
high f/# (e.g., an f/#.gtoreq.1.). The visible lens 106 images the
liquid crystal transducer 110 through the Senarmont compensator
130, which includes a quarter-wave plate 132 and a polarizer 134,
onto the solid-state detector 140 as shown in FIG. 1. The Senarmont
compensator 130 provides sensitive detections of changes in
temperature and thus changes in infrared light 11 in the scene 10.
In particular, the quarter-wave plate 132 transforms the visible,
elliptically polarized beam 13 into a visible, linearly polarized
beam 14 as described in greater detail below. This transformation
significantly reduces noise due to random, undesired twist, bend,
and splay of the liquid crystal material in the pixels 112. The
polarization angle of the linearly polarized beam 14 matches the
polarization angle of the elliptically polarized beam 13.
[0069] Transmitting the visible, linearly polarized beam 14 through
the polarizer (analyzer) 134 reduces the amplitude of the visible,
linearly polarized beam 14 by amount proportional to the inner
product of the polarization angle of the linearly polarized beam 14
with the polarization angle of the polarizer 134. For example, the
polarizer 14 may be oriented orthogonally to the polarization angle
of the beam 12 emitted by the light source such that pixels 112
with half-wave retardance at visible wavelengths yield 100%
transmission. The resulting polarized beam 15 illuminates the
solid-state detector 140 with an amplitude proportional to the
polarization angle of the linearly polarized beam 14, which in turn
is proportional to the birefringence of the pixels 112 in the
liquid crystal transducer 110. The amplitude of the polarized beam
15 may vary in space and/or time with variations in the pixels'
birefringence, which varies with the intensity of the IR light 11
from the scene 10. The solid-state imager 140 detects the intensity
of the polarized beam 15 and generates an image 20 of the scene
suitable for digital manipulation, storage, and/or
transmission.
[0070] Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the
thermal imager 100 shown in FIG. 1A can include additional optical
elements (e.g., lenses, mirrors, beam splitters, filters, etc.)
and/or can be reconfigured to operate in different geometries. For
instance, the liquid crystal transducer 110 may be coated or backed
with a mirror or reflective surface to reflect the incident visible
light 12 back through the liquid crystal transducer 110 in a
double-pass reflection geometry. Similarly, the dichroic mirror 104
may transmit visible light and reflect IR light. And the lenses 102
and 106 may include any number of individual lens elements (i.e.,
they may be compound lenses) and/or may be used with additional
beam-shaping elements depending on the application.
[0071] Senarmont Compensator for Twist, Bend, and Splay Noise
[0072] As described above, the thermal imager 100 shown in FIG. 1A
includes a Senarmont compensator 130 to reduce or eliminate noise
caused by undesired liquid crystal deformation, including the
twist, bend, and splay deformation described above. The Senarmont
compensator 130 includes a quarter-wave plate 132 and a polarizer
134 that are aligned with respect to the liquid crystal cells
(pixels) 112 and the polarization angle of the visible beam 12
incident on the pixels 112 to produce an output 15 with a linear
polarization state regardless of the input polarization state. This
increases the signal-to-noise ratio when detecting the
temperature-induced change in birefringence.
[0073] FIG. 1B illustrates the orientations of the quarter-wave
plate 132, polarizer 134, and liquid crystal transducer 110 with
respect to the polarization angle of the visible beam 12 incident
on the liquid crystal transducer 110. The incident beam 12 is
polarized at 45.degree. (e.g., by propagation through a horizontal
polarizer 122) with respect to the liquid crystal optical axis,
which is indicated in FIG. 1B by a diagonal line across the liquid
crystal transducer 110. In other words, the extraordinary index of
refraction (n.sub.e) of the liquid crystal transducer 110 is at
45.degree. with respect to the incoming polarized light 12. And as
understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, the ordinary
(n.sub.o) index of refraction of the liquid crystal transducer 110
is perpendicular to the extraordinary index and at -45.degree. with
respect to the incoming polarized light 12.
[0074] The quarter-wave plate 132 has its optical axis aligned with
the incoming polarized light. The angle .phi. of the analyzer 134
can be changed from 0.degree. to 360.degree. to find the maximum
signal-to-noise ratio. In actual operation, the angle .phi. can be
fixed based on the desired SNR and the measured, simulated, or
calculated birefringence of the liquid crystal transducer. In other
operating modes, the analyzer may be rotated to find a minimum or
maximum point for several measurements.
[0075] Without being bound by any particular theory, the intensity
of the beam 15 transmitted by the Senarmont compensator 130 can be
written as:
I = I 0 cos 2 ( .PHI. + .GAMMA. 2 ) ( EQN . 1 ) ##EQU00001##
where I is the signal intensity at the detector, I.sub.0 is the
input intensity, .phi. is the analyzer angle, and .GAMMA. is the
retardation of the liquid crystal transducer at its nominal
(constant) operating temperature. The retardation is given by EQN.
2:
.GAMMA. = 2 .pi..DELTA. n ( T ) d .lamda. ( EQN . 2 )
##EQU00002##
where .DELTA.n(T) is the temperature dependent birefringence, d is
the thickness of the LC layer, and .lamda. is the visible
wavelength of the input light (the quarter wave plate is optimized
for .lamda.).
[0076] The Senarmont optical arrangement allows for the value of
the analyzer angle .phi. to be adjusted to give the maximum change
in intensity with temperature for a given value of .GAMMA. (that is
dependent on the cavity thickness). Modeling and measurements show
that the maximum SNR is close to the maximum slope of the Senarmont
signal. The maximum signal difference in intensity through the
analyzer occurs if the output light signal is linearly
polarized.
[0077] Without being bound by any particular theory, the signal S,
noise N, and signal-to-noise ratio SNR for the signal detected by
the system 100 shown in FIG. 1A can be written as,
respectively:
S = I 0 [ sin 2 ( .GAMMA. / 2 - .PHI. ) - sin 2 ( .GAMMA. / 2 +
.PHI. ) ] ##EQU00003## N = I 0 [ sin 2 ( .GAMMA. / 2 - .PHI. ) +
sin 2 ( .GAMMA. / 2 + .PHI. ) ] ##EQU00003.2## SNR = 2 I 0 [ sin (
.GAMMA. ) sin ( 2 .PHI. ) 1 - cos ( .GAMMA. ) cos ( .PHI. ) ]
##EQU00003.3##
In this case, the signal is defined as the difference in the signal
between two adjacent analyzer angles. The noise is defined as the
standard deviation of the detected light signal at either of the
angle settings (the two nearest neighbor angle points have about
the same standard deviation).
[0078] Taking the derivative of the SNR with respect to the
analyzer angle .phi. yields:
cos ( .GAMMA. ) = 2 cos ( 2 .PHI. ) 1 + cos 2 ( 2 .PHI. )
##EQU00004##
Solving this equation for the analyzer angle .phi. in terms of the
baseline liquid crystal birefringence .GAMMA. yields the analyzer
angle .phi. that should yield the maximum and minimum SNRs for a
given baseline liquid crystal birefringence .GAMMA.. Generally, as
the baseline liquid crystal birefringence .GAMMA. decreases, the
optimum goes towards null.
[0079] The analysis above includes shot noise and indicates that
the maximum SNR is near the null. Without being bound by any
particular theory, this makes sense since as the signal goes to
zero so does the noise. However, if the detector readout noise,
dark current noise, and liquid crystal noise are added, the maximum
SNR may shifts to near midway between the null and maximum of the
Searmont signal, e.g, as shown in FIGS. 17A-17C. These plots show
the simulated Searmont signal with shot noise only (FIG. 17A), the
simulated Searmont signal with other noise sources (FIG. 17B), and
a measured Searmont signal (FIG. 17C). This may be occur because
this is where the maximum slope occurs in the Searmont signal. The
calculated and measured noise qualitatively are similar.
[0080] FIGS. 2A-2C are plots of experimentally measured signals
transmitted through a Searmont compensator as a function of
analyzer angle with respect to the polarization angle of the input
beam 12. FIG. 2A shows the transmitted signal power versus analyzer
angle; it shows that the maximum transmission occurs at
120.degree., 300.degree., and so on. FIG. 2B shows the standard
deviation in the transmitted signal power versus analyzer; again,
the maxima are at 120.degree., 300.degree., and so on. And FIG. 16C
shows that the SNR peaks at analyzer angles of 0.degree.,
60.degree., 180.degree., 240.degree., and so on. The SNR is defined
as .DELTA.I/( 2 .phi..sub.I), where .DELTA.I the change in signal
for a degree change in the analyzer angle and .phi..sub.I is the
signal intensity standard deviation. The 2 term in the equation
takes into account the subtraction of two signals.
[0081] To generate FIGS. 2A-2C, the light 13 exiting the liquid
crystal cell 110 was selected to have a polarization state that is
almost circular without the quarter-wave plate 132. This is
expected based on the optical wavelength and liquid crystal cell
thickness used in the measurements. Thus, the change in signal
measured after the analyzer is very low compared to the condition
with the quarter-wave plate 132.
[0082] The noise (standard deviation) for most of the measurements
is limited by the Poisson distribution of the input light signal.
Fluctuations from the LCs are observed at high-input-light signal
levels beyond where the thermal imager is expected to operate and
thus do not affect the SNR. The fluctuations observed at these
high-light levels are caused by the twist, bend, and splay motions
of the LCs.
[0083] The noise is about higher without the quarter-wave plate 132
compared to the measurement with the quarter-wave plate 132. This
result was unexpected and, to the inventors' knowledge, is not
mentioned anywhere in the literature. The quarter-wave plate 132 is
filtering out some of the polarization noise, improving the
signal-to-noise ratio. The maximum signal-to-noise is almost 5
times higher with the quarter-wave plate for the measurement
conditions used.
[0084] FIG. 3A shows the evolution of the polarization state,
plotted on the Poincare sphere, of the visible light propagating
through the thermal imager 100. As understood by those of ordinary
skill in the art, the axes of the Poincare sphere represent the
Stokes vectors, which can be expressed in terms of the measured
intensity I, the polarization angle .phi. (longitude), and the
degree of ellipticity .chi. (latitude):
S.sub.0=I
S.sub.1=I.rho. cos 2.psi. cos 2.chi.
S.sub.2=I.rho. sin 2.psi. cos 2.chi.
S.sub.3=I.rho. sin 2.chi.
These vectors are typically normalized to the intensity before
being plotted on the Poincaresphere.
[0085] As shown in FIG. 3A, the input beam 12 is horizontally
polarized. As the beam propagates through the liquid crystal
transducer 110, its polarization state evolves along the great
circle connecting the north and south poles of the Poincare sphere.
How far (or how many times) the beam's polarization state evolves
along this great circle depends on the birefringence of the liquid
crystal transducer 110. In many cases, though, the beam 13 emitted
by the liquid crystal transducer 110 is elliptically polarized as
shown in FIG. 1B. The quarter-wave plate 132 transforms the
elliptically polarized beam 13 to a linearly polarized state whose
polarization angle depends on the degree of ellipticity of the
elliptically polarized beam 13. (Put differently, the quarter-wave
plate 132 is oriented to swap latitude for longitude.) The analyzer
134 then projects the resulting linearly polarized beam 14 into a
predetermined polarization angle (e.g., the horizontal polarization
angle of the input beam 12).
[0086] Without the quarter-wave plate 132, no signal difference may
be detected if beam 13 is circularly polarized. The quarter-wave
plate 132 provides a linearly polarized output 14 no matter what
the visible wavelength or liquid crystal thickness. Having the
quarter-wave plate 132 in the system increases the options for
choosing the visible wavelength and liquid crystal thickness.
[0087] FIGS. 3B-3E show various aspects of Searmont compensation.
FIG. 3B gives the simulated twist noise on the Poincare sphere with
and without the quarter-wave plate 132. FIG. 3C is the normalized
signal and FIG. 3D is the standard deviation. For these simulation
conditions, the standard deviation can be up to three times lower
with the quarter-wave plate 132 than without it. FIG. 3E shows
simulations of in-plane and out-of-plane liquid crystal
fluctuations. Measured results show a large decrease in noise with
the quarter-wave plate 132, which would tends to be more effective
with in-plane fluctuations. The in-plane fluctuations are
consistent with twist fluctuations being the major liquid crystal
noise source.
[0088] Liquid Crystal Transducers for Liquid Crystal Thermal
Imagers
[0089] FIGS. 4A-4E illustrate the liquid crystal transducer 110 in
greater detail. FIG. 4A, which is a cross-sectional view, shows
that a typical pixel 112 defines a cavity 113 filled with liquid
crystal material 115. (The cavity can also contain gas, transparent
liquids, and/or solids, depending on the application.) Generally,
thinner liquid crystal layers 113 exhibit lower noise than thicker
layers. And the liquid crystal material 115 may be selected to have
a phase change, where the temperature dependence of the
birefringence tends to be high, that occurs near the desired
operating temperature range.
[0090] The pixel 112 also includes alignment layers/surfaces 119
that align the liquid crystal material 115 to the pixel walls 118.
A plug 117 fills a hole 111 in the pixel 112 and prevents the
liquid crystal material 115 from leaking out of the cavity 113. And
thermal legs 114 support the pixel 112 above the substrate 116
(e.g., a glass substrate) that is transparent at visible and/or IR
wavelengths.
[0091] In some cases, the cavity 113, which may be about 2 microns
to about 25 microns or even 100 microns wide, has a thickness of,
for example, 0.5 microns to about 10 microns. The cavity thickness
may be chosen such that the cavity 113 is resonant at a (coherent)
visible wavelength used to interrogate the liquid crystal
birefringence. A resonant cavity can be used to increase the signal
and noise linearly as opposed to the super-linear increase in noise
for an equivalent thicker liquid crystal cell. For example, if the
resonant cavity is resonant at some wavelength for the ordinary and
extraordinary refractive indices of the liquid crystal, then the
optical signal may travel several times back and forth through the
cavity. If the optical signal travels back and forth through the
cavity N times, the effective phase change is greater by N, which
in turn increases the signal change N.
[0092] A resonant cavity may also "detune" with changes in
temperature to enhance the temperature-dependent transmission. For
example, as temperature changes cause the cavity's optical
thickness to change, the transmittance of the cavity will change as
the cavity moves in and out of resonance with the incident visible
beam.
[0093] The cavity 113 is thermally floating and yet can absorb
thermal radiation as described above with respect to FIG. 1A. A
change of temperature of the cavity 113 changes the physical shape
of the cavity 113 and/or changes the properties of liquid crystal
material 115 contained in the cavity 113. The cavity 113 acts as a
transducer that converts the absorbed thermal energy intensity into
a visible light intensity as described above. When the cavity 113
is placed near an object that has a temperature above ambient
temperature, the cavity temperature will climb. With a proper
setup--for example, a visible light source, lenses, and polarizers
as shown in FIG. 1A--the cavity temperature can be calibrated to
the surface of the object. Similarly, with a proper lens, the
thermal imager can be calibrated to a surface in the focal plane of
the lens.
[0094] In order to reduce the cavity's sensitivity to fluctuations
in the temperatures of the substrate 116 and of neighboring pixels
112, the cavity 113 is thermally isolated from its surroundings.
And in order to thermally insulate the cavity 113, the cavity's
surroundings may be a vacuum with one or more thermally insulating
legs 114 as the (possibly only) physical attachment between the
cavity 113 and the substrate 116. The legs 114, which are also
called pedestal structures, provide mechanical support for the
cavity 113, thermal isolation from adjacent pixels, and thermal
resistance to the transparent substrate 116. The cavity 113 and
legs 114 may be cooperatively designed for sensitivity and fast
(e.g., millisecond) response times.
[0095] The fill hole 111 can be quite small since it is often
possible to rely on capillary action to fill the cavity 113 with
liquid crystal material 115, such as 5CB and E7 liquid crystals.
These liquid crystals were chosen because the phase transition from
nematic to isotropic is in at a reasonable temperature (35.degree.
C. for 5CB and 55.degree. C. for E7) and exhibit a maximum
birefringence change of about .DELTA.n=0.2. Other liquid crystals
are also possible, including those that exhibit
.DELTA.n>0.6.
[0096] The hole 111 should be larger than a molecule of the liquid
crystal 115, but small enough so that it can be sealed. One
advantage of a small hole is that small holes are easier to seal.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the hole 11 is sealed with a plug 117 made of
reactive mesogen, for example. It is even possible that the top
plate of the cavity 113 could be porous and sealed with a coating
material after filling. Since part of the manufacturing process
(described below) usually involves emptying the cavity 113 first
before filling it with liquid crystal material 115, if the hole 113
is small, more than one hole may be used to facilitate or speed the
filling process.
[0097] As shown in FIG. 4A, each pixel 112 includes respective
alignment layers or surfaces 119 for aligning the liquid crystal
material 115 with respect to the cavity 113. The alignment layers
or surfaces 119 seed the orientation of the liquid crystal
molecules. The alignment layer 119 has an anchoring energy which
determines how much energy is required to change the orientation of
the director of each liquid crystal molecule that contacts the
layer 119. Without being bound to any particular theory, alignment
fluctuation noise in the liquid crystal material 115 is related to
the anchoring energy; the higher the energy, the lower the thermal
director fluctuation (i.e., the lower the noise).
[0098] Suitable alignment techniques include, but are not limited
to rubbed polyimide, ionic milling, lapped inorganics, glancing
angle deposition, and photo-alignment. Most liquid crystal displays
use polyimide alignment layers that are coated and mechanically
rubbed to elongate the polymer chains and to create an anisotropic
interaction that aligns the liquid crystal director with a large
anchoring energy. In practice, the polyimide is deposited on two
relatively large flat glass pieces and then the pieces are brought
together within a few microns, the gap being set by glass ball
spacers.
[0099] Unfortunately, some of the polyimide properties may not be
compatible micron-scale cavities like those shown in FIGS. 4A-4E.
In thermal imagers and other applications where isolated cavities
with lateral dimensions of microns are desired, alignment may be
provided by mechanical diamond lapping of surfaces (e.g. silicon
dioxide, molybdenum). The lapping creates parallel "troughs" in the
inner surfaces of the cavity. These troughs have dimensions of
several nanometers in height and width and are used to align the
liquid crystal material 115 to the cavity 113 as described in
greater detail below.
[0100] FIG. 4C shows photographs of a fabricated liquid crystal
transducer with several pixels. FIGS. 4D and 4E show scanning
electron microscope (SEM) images of the same device. Each pixel in
the device includes a liquid crystal cavity that is about 20
.mu.m.times.20 .mu.m.times.1-2 .mu.m and held about 1 to 2 .mu.m
above a transparent substrate approximately by four silicon nitride
legs, each of which is approximately 2 .mu.m wide.times.300 nm
thick. The thermally resistive legs 114, which could also be made
from a polymer, have a thermal resistance of 2.times.10.sup.-8 W/K.
More or fewer legs and different cavity shapes and fill factors are
also possible. The top surface of the cavity may also be coated
with the approximately 300 nm thick silicon nitride layer that
forms the cavity.
[0101] Microcavity Fabrication Process
[0102] FIGS. 5A-5E illustrate a process 500 for fabricating a
thermal pixel imager on an unpatterned substrate 516 (e.g., a fused
silica or silicon substrate). For example, processing may begin on
bare 200-mm fused silica wafers, e.g., for use in a
transmission-mode thermal imager. An aluminum blocking layer 501 is
deposited on the substrate 516 and windows are opened. The light
may be blocked everywhere except where it will pass through the
liquid crystal. A silicon dioxide layer 502 is deposited and a
planarizing polish is done as shown in FIG. 5A. An approximately 1-
to 2-.mu.m-thick molybdenum sacrificial layer 503 is deposited on
top of the oxide and dry etched. Next, an approximately
300-nm-thick inorganic layer 514 (e.g., silicon nitride or silicon
dioxide) is deposited and dry etched to form the thermal legs and
the bottom of the cavity as shown in FIG. 5B.
[0103] Next, a silicon dioxide layer (not shown), 100 nm thick, is
deposited and diamond lapped to generate an alignment surface 119.
A second 1-.mu.m-thick molybdenum sacrificial layer 505 is
deposited and etched to define the cavity interior. The second
sacrificial layer 505 is diamond-lapped to create a negative
alignment surface 519. A second 300-nm-thick inorganic layer 518
(e.g., silicon nitride or silicon dioxide) is deposited over the
second sacrificial layer 505 and dry etched to form the top surface
and sides 118 of the cavity as shown in FIG. 5C. During this etch,
a 2-.mu.m-diameter hole 111 for filling the cavity 113 with liquid
crystal material 115 is also created in the inorganic layer on top
of the cavity 113. After the hole 111 is formed, the top molybdenum
sacrificial layer 505 is etched in hydrogen peroxide, leaving
behind another alignment surface 119 on the upper interior surface
of the cavity 113. This upper alignment surface 119 is the negative
of the negative alignment surface 519 formed by diamond lapping the
second sacrificial layer 505. The bottom molybdenum 503 is
protected during this step by the 100-nm-thick silicon dioxide
layer and photoresist.
[0104] Alternatively, the silicon nitride 514 can be lapped
directly to form an alignment surface 119 without the need for
second inorganic layer 518. In this example, the second inorganic
layer 518 protects the bottom sacrificial layer 503 while the top
sacrificial layer 505 is being etched. It also protects the bottom
inorganic layer 514 while the top inorganic layer 518 is being
etched.
[0105] Once the molybdenum is removed from the cavities, liquid
crystal material 115 is poured over the cavity surface. The liquid
crystal material 115 easily wets the silicon nitride surface and is
spontaneously wicked through the 2-.mu.m-diameter hole 111 into the
cavity 113. Suitable liquid crystal material includes
4'-pentyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (5CB) although other mixtures are
also possible.
[0106] The bulk liquid crystal material is then rinsed off the
surface with deionized water. The amorphous fluoropolymer CYTOP
(Asahi Glass Co.) is spun over the thermal imager device(s) on the
wafer and annealed to create plugs 117 for the cavities 113 as
shown in FIG. 3D. The CYTOP is then patterned and etched in an
oxygen-plasma to open holes over the bottom molybdenum 503. Using
CYTOP as a mask, the protective oxide layer (not shown) is etched
with buffered hydrofluoric acid, exposing the bottom molybdenum
503. Once the silicon dioxide is removed from the holes 111, a
second pattern and etch is done to the CYTOP, which forms the
cavity plug 117. The bottom molybdenum 508 is then removed using
hydrogen peroxide to yield the pixel 112 shown in FIG. 5E. The
silicon dioxide layer over the bottom molybdenum 508 acts as a
support keeping the cavities elevated during the wet hydrogen
peroxide etch process. If desired, the silicon dioxide layer 502
may be removed through an ion milling process that releases the
filled cavities.
[0107] The fabrication process 500 shown in FIGS. 5A-5E has fewer
than 10 photolithographic steps to create the transducer. This
compares well to the greater than 40 mask steps for making a
conventional microbolometer. In addition, the manufacturing
constraints, such as fill factor, can be relaxed to ease
fabrication. Other variables can be adjusted as well, including the
array size and the number of thermal legs per pixel. For instance,
the transducers shown in FIGS. 4C-4E are made with a mask set
having arrays as large as 256.times.256 pixels and four thermal
legs per pixel. The same mask set has several smaller arrays with
various other structures including thermal pixels with two thermal
legs. Test structures can also fabricated with the transducer
devices for characterization of the pixel structure's optical,
mechanical, thermal, and temporal properties as well as process
control monitors.
[0108] Some devices may also include an additional infrared (IR)
absorber layer that is integrated into the process to tune the
structure for the IR absorption. This absorber layer can be located
on the cavity structure, e.g., on top of the completed cavity or at
the bottom of the cavity before the silicon nitride is deposited.
It could be TiN, nickel, black gold, black carbon, a plasmonic
absorber, or any other suitable materials. The layer can be very
thin, e.g., on the order of a few nanometers. Note that the silicon
dioxide, silicon nitride, and liquid crystal each absorb some LWIR
radiation.
[0109] The microcavities and fabrication process disclosed herein
are also useful for other applications, including displays, even
without the thermal isolation. Making an array of microcavities for
a display is simpler than making an array for a thermal imager
because the legs are not required. The pixels in the display can be
subdivided into the micro cavities each having a size in the range
of 10 to 50 microns and 2 to 25 microns thick. When filled with
liquid crystal, the micro cavities become strong by retaining the
lateral position of the liquid so that the thickness the liquid in
the pixel is more uniform.
[0110] Flexible displays often use polyimide or some other polymer
as the primary structural material instead of glass. Glass is tends
to be too brittle and usually does not stretch much before it
breaks. An advantage of plastic materials is that manufacturing of
the display could use other techniques such as embossing the
cavities and then bonding a cover sheet to create the cavities. By
use of a subdivision of the pixels into walled off micro cavities
(e.g., in a hexagonal close packed structure) the liquid crystal is
trapped in a small chamber and is not free to move around during
the flexing of the display. Once the cavities are filled with
liquid crystal, this kind of structure may allow the electrodes and
structural members to bend without undue stress and without
allowing the thickness of the liquid crystal to vary in one area
versus another.
[0111] This flexible display can be manufactured with most of the
same steps used for glass substrates. The electrodes and the
transistor can be formed on the polyimide substrate. The cavities
can be made using the sacrificial layer described above with
respect to FIGS. 5A-5E. It may be fortuitous to use some other
sacrificial layer other than molybdenum, e.g., perhaps another
polymer. The glass can be replaced with a polymer and the silicon
nitride can be replaced with casting or spin coat of polyimide.
After finishing the substrate with electrodes and transistor the
sacrificial layer is added next. The top covering of the microcell
can be made with tiny holes or it could be porous polyimide after
first placing down an electrode layer with a hole or porous areas.
The sacrificial layer could be removed through the hole or the
porous layer and after filling with liquid crystal the porous layer
could be coated with a reactive polymer that cures under
ultraviolet or blue light. Another coating may seal the
surface.
[0112] Creating Textured Alignment Surfaces for Aligning Liquid
Crystals
[0113] FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a scratched or
textured alignment surface 600 for aligning liquid crystal material
to a substrate 602, such as an inner surface of a microcavity for a
thermal imager, liquid crystal display, spatial light modulator, or
other liquid crystal device. The alignment surface 600 includes
several grooves 601, also called scratches or alignment features,
which run parallel to each other. Liquid crystal molecules
(represented as ellipses in FIG. 6) in the liquid crystal material
115 deposited on the substrate 602 align themselves such that their
long axes are parallel to the grooves 601 in the alignment surface
600.
[0114] FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate lapping tools and a lapping process
for creating the scratched or textured alignment surfaces like the
one shown in FIG. 6. This lapping process is compatible with the
fabrication process 500 illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7E. Lapping can be
performed directly on the lower surface of a microcavity to create
a first textured surface. It can also be performed on a sacrificial
layer (e.g., the molybdenum layer 505 shown in FIG. 5C) to create a
"negative" of a scratched alignment surface. Depositing another
layer (e.g., silicon nitride layer 518 in FIG. 5C) on the textured
surface of the sacrificial layer yields a scratched alignment
surface that is exposed upon removal of the scratched layer.
[0115] FIG. 7A shows a lapping tool 700 that can be used to texture
or scratch the surface of a wafer or a layer deposited on a wafer.
The lapping tool 700 includes a grit film 702 attached to a weight
704 and suspended from a stainless steel bar 706. In this case, the
grit film 702 is a 500 nm diamond grit film with an area of 1
square inch and the weight is 4.15 lbs. to give a pressure of 4.15
psi. The grit film, area, and weight may be selected as desired,
e.g., based on the surface material, to achieve a desired scratch
depth and density, etc.
[0116] FIGS. 7B-7D illustrate how to lap a wafer 716 using the
lapping tool 700 in order to create a textured surface. In FIG. 7B,
the wafer 716 is submerged in de-ionized water in a lapping jig
710, which includes a push bar 714 that sits on a pair of Teflon
guide rails 712 next to the wafer 716. The lapping tool 700 is
placed in front of the push bar 714 and pushed back and forth
across the wafer as shown in FIGS. 7C and 7D. The lapping tool 700
may be moved laterally and/or replaced between passes to texture
different portions of the wafer surface. The wafer can also be
oriented between layer depositions to achieve a desired alignment
orientation. For instance, a first layer (e.g., a silicon nitride
or oxide layer) on the wafer can be lapped in one direction, and a
second layer (e.g., a sacrificial molybdenum layer) on the first
layer can be lapped in the same direction or an orthogonal
direction to create alignment surfaces that are parallel or
orthogonal to each other, respectively.
[0117] FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate lapping maps created by lapping
different portions of an oxide layer and a molybdenum layer,
respectively, at different pressures and with different numbers of
passes. The bottom lapping pattern in FIG. 8A has been transferred
through the molybdenum shown in FIG. 8B.
[0118] FIGS. 9A-9D show SEM images of a portion of the molybdenum
layer under different lapping conditions. FIG. 9A shows that even
without lapping, the lapping pattern from the bottom layer has been
transferred through the molybedenum. FIG. 9B shows that four passes
of 500 nm diamond grit film at 4.15 psi yields deep, relatively
smooth grooves. At two passes with the same film and pressure, the
grooves are not as deep or smooth as shown in FIG. 9C. And two
passes of 500 nm diamond grit film at 1.9 psi yields shallower
grooves.
[0119] FIGS. 10A and 10B show liquid crystal microcavities without
and with lapping, respectively. FIG. 10A shows that without any
alignment, the liquid crystal material behaves as a polycrystalline
material with domains of dynamically varying shape and size. And
FIG. 10B shows that with alignment surfaces created by lapping, the
liquid crystal material aligns to form a single domain per
microcavity.
[0120] Experimental Performance of an Uncooled Liquid Crystal
Thermal Imager
[0121] The data shown in FIGS. 11-14 were obtained from
measurements on liquid crystal cells, both larger-area sample cells
and small device arrays. The bulk cells were relatively simple to
fabricate and gave preliminary performance information. The
measurements were done at 2 K to 3 K from the phase transition
except where noted. The liquid crystal used in the measurements was
5 CB because its phase transition is conveniently located at 308 K
although other liquid crystal mixtures tested showed similar
performance.
[0122] FIGS. 11 and 12 are plots of experimental data obtained
using 1-inch liquid crystal test cells. Each cell includes two
glass slides with one side of each slide covered by an alignment
layer (e.g., rubbed polyimide on indium tin oxide (ITO) or lapped
silicon dioxide). The ITO is a standard in these cells for
evaluating switching display processes, but the electrical
switching is not used or needed in our measurements or operation of
the thermal imager. A 2- to 3-.mu.m-thick LC layer is injected
between the glass slides with the LC facing the alignment layer on
each slide. The thickness of the LC is part of the imager design
and is chosen to give a response time of 10 ms based on reasonable
thermal resistance values expected for silicon nitride legs used in
the arrays.
[0123] FIG. 11 is a plot that shows the temperature sensitivity of
the LC cells. The LC cells are placed on a substrate with a heater
driven by a controller capable of 2-mK steps. The assembly is then
placed in a dewar that is evacuated to below 1 mTorr. The
visible-image detector may be a 640.times.480 CCD camera operating
at 30 Hz or 60 Hz. A 24-.mu.m area of the LC is imaged onto a
4.times.4 pixel area of the imager. The pixels are binned to
increase the detected photoelectrons from the light passing through
the liquid crystal area. The change in signal with temperature is
measured by a change in intensity with the analyzer held
constant.
[0124] The data in FIG. 11 give the change in intensity, in digital
numbers, for 2 mK temperature steps. Approximately 100 frames are
taken at each step with the camera operating at the 30 Hz or 60 Hz
rate. The standard deviation calculated from a 2 mK step is about
225 .mu.K. This can be related to a noise equivalent temperature
difference (NETD) in the scene of about 18 mK by making the usual
assumptions (e.g. 24-.mu.m pixel, 30 Hz frame rate, f/1 lens,
typical leg thermal resistance, etc.).
[0125] The background limited noise for this case is about 2 mK.
The percent change in intensity with 1-K change can range from tens
of percent to hundreds of percent depending on the
temperature-difference from the phase transition temperature, as
illustrated in FIG. 15. In operation, the thermal imager operated
near the tens of percent change per 1 K. The temperature
sensitivity for the data in FIG. 11 is limited by the test system
and not the liquid crystal cell. For example, the noise is that
from the Poison distribution of the input light.
[0126] Other performance characteristics measured on the bulk
liquid crystal cells included dynamic range and response time. The
bulk LC cell is measured to have a dynamic range greater than 10
bits by stepping in 2-mK increments over 0.5 K. The temperature
resolution as shown in FIG. 11 is discernible across this range and
relatively linear. For 225-.mu.K steps, the maximum temperature
would be 225 mK for a 10-bit dynamic range, which is well within
the 3-K distance from the phase transition. To get a dynamic range
of 10 bits, the optical imager should have greater than 10.sup.6
photoelectrons per pixel. The visible CMOS or CCD imager should
accommodate the high signal levels. Recently, imagers have been
designed that have large dynamic ranges, for example, by having
high charge capacity or by doing an in-pixel A/D conversion. This
strikes a balance among sensitivity, dynamic range, and noise.
Operating too close to the phase transition may cause more
molecular fluctuation noise to appear in the signal.
[0127] To measure the thermal response of the LCs in bulk cells,
the glass slide surface facing the LCs coated with ITO is
electrically pulsed at a high frequency through the connection on
one side of the cell. This heats the LC enabling the rise time of
the LCs to be measured by imaging the intensity change. The rise
time is measured to be less than 30 ms, which is limited by the
speed of the camera system.
[0128] FIG. 12 shows the power spectral density (PSD) measured
using the Searmont system with and without the quarter-wave plate.
A high-speed CCD camera operating at 700 Hz is used to collect the
data. The noise of the cell is dominated by the shot noise of the
visible light source (Poisson distribution) for the Searmont system
with the quarter-wave plate in place. Also the 1/f noise is
negligible for both conditions, but instead a Lorentzian-shaped
curve is seen with a flat response at low frequencies corresponding
to LC molecule twist fluctuations. The curve starts to decrease at
about 20 Hz where the roll off frequency is related to the
viscosity, elastic constant, and thickness of the cell. The curve
becomes constant again at high frequencies where it is dominated by
the shot noise of the visible light. The quarter wave plate may be
important for removing most of the twist noise. Other particular
arrangements can be found that reduce the twist fluctuations
without the quarter wave plate, which depend on the phase
retardation through the cell, the cell thickness, and alignment
anchoring energy. However, the quarter wave plate removes the need
for these special conditions.
[0129] FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate measurements done on processed
device arrays. The first devices were on silicon substrates
(instead of fused silica) so the characterization was done in
reflection mode (instead of in transmission as shown in FIG. 1A).
The test system included an 8- to 12-nm filter that filtered LWIR
light from a blackbody source. The filtered light was focused by a
ZnSe lens (f/3) and then reflected by a dichroic optic into the
dewar and onto the array under test. As determined through
modeling, the average LWIR absorption was about 40% in the thermal
pixel for the 8- to 12-nm band. A blackbody source provides the IR
light, and the Searmont method was used to detect the liquid
crystal birefringence change due to the absorption of the light.
The visible light source is an LED with a wavelength selected
somewhere in the visible to optimize the signal and to match the
quarter wave plate. The light bandwidth was reduced to about 10 nm
by a filter. After going through a beam splitter, the visible light
passed through a lens and was focused onto the liquid crystal
array. The light reflected by the liquid crystal array was passed
again through the lens and focused onto the CCD camera focal plane
array.
[0130] FIG. 13 a graph of the intensity versus frame capture, again
using the heater to step the temperature. The sensitivity is
similar to that for the bulk samples, indicating that the array
processing does not significantly alter alignment properties or the
temperature sensitivity. Achieving sensitivity of the liquid
crystal in these small cavities shows that the cavity structure and
alignment method does not alter our major premise for designing
this array imager. The reflection-mode operation yields a response
even though the conditions are very lossy and far from optimum
compared to the large-area cell measurements.
[0131] FIG. 14 shows the response of a pixel in the array where the
frames were taken at less than 1-second intervals. The camera
operated at 30 Hz but the frame grabber captured frames about once
a second. The measured performance shows detection of temperatures
in the tens of degrees centigrade range for the blackbody radiator.
The low reponse with temperature was due to several factors such as
the f/3 lens, low thermal resistance (two extra silicon nitride
legs), low LWIR absorption, parasitic visible light scattering, and
nonoptimum operating conditions.
Conclusion
[0132] While various inventive embodiments have been described and
illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily
envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing
the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the
advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or
modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive
embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the
art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions,
materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be
exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials,
and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or
applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those
skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no
more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific
inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be
understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of
example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and
equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced
otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive
embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each
individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method
described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such
features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if
such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods
are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive
scope of the present disclosure.
[0133] The above-described embodiments can be implemented in any of
numerous ways. For example, embodiments of designing and making the
coupling structures and diffractive optical elements disclosed
herein may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination
thereof. When implemented in software, the software code can be
executed on any suitable processor or collection of processors,
whether provided in a single computer or distributed among multiple
computers.
[0134] Further, it should be appreciated that a computer may be
embodied in any of a number of forms, such as a rack-mounted
computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a tablet
computer. Additionally, a computer may be embedded in a device not
generally regarded as a computer but with suitable processing
capabilities, including a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smart
phone or any other suitable portable or fixed electronic
device.
[0135] Also, a computer may have one or more input and output
devices. These devices can be used, among other things, to present
a user interface. Examples of output devices that can be used to
provide a user interface include printers or display screens for
visual presentation of output and speakers or other sound
generating devices for audible presentation of output. Examples of
input devices that can be used for a user interface include
keyboards, and pointing devices, such as mice, touch pads, and
digitizing tablets. As another example, a computer may receive
input information through speech recognition or in other audible
format.
[0136] Such computers may be interconnected by one or more networks
in any suitable form, including a local area network or a wide area
network, such as an enterprise network, and intelligent network
(IN) or the Internet. Such networks may be based on any suitable
technology and may operate according to any suitable protocol and
may include wireless networks, wired networks or fiber optic
networks.
[0137] The various methods or processes (e.g., of designing and
making the coupling structures and diffractive optical elements
disclosed above) outlined herein may be coded as software that is
executable on one or more processors that employ any one of a
variety of operating systems or platforms. Additionally, such
software may be written using any of a number of suitable
programming languages and/or programming or scripting tools, and
also may be compiled as executable machine language code or
intermediate code that is executed on a framework or virtual
machine.
[0138] In this respect, various inventive concepts may be embodied
as a computer readable storage medium (or multiple computer
readable storage media) (e.g., a computer memory, one or more
floppy discs, compact discs, optical discs, magnetic tapes, flash
memories, circuit configurations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays
or other semiconductor devices, or other non-transitory medium or
tangible computer storage medium) encoded with one or more programs
that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors,
perform methods that implement the various embodiments of the
invention discussed above. The computer readable medium or media
can be transportable, such that the program or programs stored
thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computers or other
processors to implement various aspects of the present invention as
discussed above.
[0139] The terms "program" or "software" are used herein in a
generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of
computer-executable instructions that can be employed to program a
computer or other processor to implement various aspects of
embodiments as discussed above. Additionally, it should be
appreciated that according to one aspect, one or more computer
programs that when executed perform methods of the present
invention need not reside on a single computer or processor, but
may be distributed in a modular fashion amongst a number of
different computers or processors to implement various aspects of
the present invention.
[0140] Computer-executable instructions may be in many forms, such
as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other
devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,
objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular
tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically the
functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed
as desired in various embodiments.
[0141] Also, data structures may be stored in computer-readable
media in any suitable form. For simplicity of illustration, data
structures may be shown to have fields that are related through
location in the data structure. Such relationships may likewise be
achieved by assigning storage for the fields with locations in a
computer-readable medium that convey relationship between the
fields. However, any suitable mechanism may be used to establish a
relationship between information in fields of a data structure,
including through the use of pointers, tags or other mechanisms
that establish relationship between data elements.
[0142] Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or
more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts
performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way.
Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are
performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include
performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as
sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.
[0143] All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be
understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in
documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of
the defined terms.
[0144] The indefinite articles "a" and "an," as used herein in the
specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the
contrary, should be understood to mean "at least one."
[0145] The phrase "and/or," as used herein in the specification and
in the claims, should be understood to mean "either or both" of the
elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively
present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases.
Multiple elements listed with "and/or" should be construed in the
same fashion, i.e., "one or more" of the elements so conjoined.
Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements
specifically identified by the "and/or" clause, whether related or
unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a
non-limiting example, a reference to "A and/or B", when used in
conjunction with open-ended language such as "comprising" can
refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements
other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally
including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to
both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.
[0146] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, "or"
should be understood to have the same meaning as "and/or" as
defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, "or"
or "and/or" shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the
inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a
number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted
items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as "only
one of" or "exactly one of," or, when used in the claims,
"consisting of," will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element
of a number or list of elements. In general, the term "or" as used
herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive
alternatives (i.e. "one or the other but not both") when preceded
by terms of exclusivity, such as "either," "one of," "only one of,"
or "exactly one of" "Consisting essentially of," when used in the
claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of
patent law.
[0147] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the
phrase "at least one," in reference to a list of one or more
elements, should be understood to mean at least one element
selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of
elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and
every element specifically listed within the list of elements and
not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements.
This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present
other than the elements specifically identified within the list of
elements to which the phrase "at least one" refers, whether related
or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a
non-limiting example, "at least one of A and B" (or, equivalently,
"at least one of A or B," or, equivalently "at least one of A
and/or B") can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one,
optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and
optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment,
to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A
present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet
another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than
one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B
(and optionally including other elements); etc.
[0148] In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all
transitional phrases such as "comprising," "including," "carrying,"
"having," "containing," "involving," "holding," "composed of," and
the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean
including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases
"consisting of" and "consisting essentially of" shall be closed or
semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the
United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures,
Section 2111.03.
* * * * *