发明人：
FARRELL, RICHARD | VORA, ANKIT | LANE, AUSTIN
摘要：
Layered waveguides, multi-layer waveguide displays with layered waveguides, and methods of fabricating layered waveguides with selective bonding material deposition and/or patterning.
权利要求：
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A method of fabricating one or more multi-layer waveguides, the method comprising: receiving or forming a first waveguide layer; forming, on the first waveguide layer, a bonding layer with one or more dicing lanes; bonding a second waveguide layer to the first waveguide layer to form a bonded waveguide stack; and cutting through the bonded waveguide stack along the one or more dicing lanes to form one or more multi-layer waveguides.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the bonding layer is formed by depositing an optically-clear adhesive material; and preferably wherein the one or more dicing lanes are free of the optically-clear adhesive material.
3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein forming the bonding layer comprises ink jet depositing a two-dimensional array of droplets of an optically-clear adhesive material on the first waveguide layer; and preferably wherein forming the optically-clear adhesive material comprises a base resin comprising a material selected from a group comprised of acrylates, epoxides, vinyls, thiols, allyls, vinylethers, allylethers, epoxyacrylates, urethane acrylates, and polyester acrylates; and preferably wherein the optically-clear adhesive material further comprises nanoparticles comprising a metal oxide.
4. The method of claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, further comprising depositing a sacrificial material in the one or more dicing lanes; and preferably wherein cutting through the bonded waveguide stack comprises cutting through the sacrificial material.
5. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein one or more of: i. the one or more dicing lanes are circumscribed about one or more waveguide dies in the first waveguide layer; ii. the one or more dicing lanes are formed by (i) patterning the bonding layer using a photolithographic process or (ii) forming the bonding layer by selectively depositing an optically-clear adhesive material outside the one or more dicing lanes; iii. one or both of the second waveguide layer and the bonding layer have a refractive index that is the same or lower than a refractive index of the first waveguide layer.
6. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: i. forming one or more input and/or output gratings in the first waveguide layer; and/or
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ii. forming one or more additional waveguide layers on the bonded waveguide stack, each additional waveguide layer formed by: depositing optically-clear adhesive material; and bonding the additional waveguide layer.
7. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein cutting through the bonded waveguide stack comprising applying laser ablation along the one or more dicing lanes.
8. A method of fabricating one or more multi-layer waveguide displays, the method comprising: receiving or forming a first waveguide layer with one or more gratings; forming, on the first waveguide layer, an optically-clear adhesive material layer with one or more dicing lanes; bonding a second waveguide layer to the first waveguide layer to form a bonded waveguide stack; cutting through the bonded waveguide stack along the one or more dicing lanes to form one or more multi-layer waveguides; and forming the one or more multi-layer waveguides displays using the one or more multi-layer waveguides.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising depositing a sacrificial material in at least a portion of the one or more dicing lanes; and/or preferably wherein the one or more dicing lanes is free of optically-clear adhesive material.
10. One or more multi-layer waveguides fabricated by: receiving or forming a first waveguide layer; forming, on the first waveguide layer, an optically-clear adhesive material layer, the optically-clear adhesive material layer having one or more dicing lanes free of optically-clear adhesive material; bonding a second waveguide layer to the first waveguide layer to form a waveguide stack; and cutting through the bonded waveguide stack along the one or more dicing lanes to form the one or more multi-layer waveguides.
11. The one or more multi-layer waveguides multi-layer waveguide display of claim 10, wherein one or more of: i. the multi-layer waveguide is fabricated further by depositing a sacrificial material at the one or more dicing lanes; ii. forming the optically-clear adhesive material layer comprises inkjet depositing
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droplets of an optically-clear adhesive material on the first waveguide layer; iii. one or both of the second waveguide layer and the optically-clear adhesive material layer has a refractive index that is the same or lower than a refractive index of the first waveguide layer.
12. A multi-layer waveguide display, comprising: a layered waveguide fabricated by cutting through a bonded waveguide stack along one or more dicing lanes in at least one of a plurality of waveguide layers of the bonded waveguide stack, wherein the one or more dicing lanes is free of a bonding material; and one or more grating couplers configured to diffractively couple display light into or out of the layered waveguide and/or refractively transmit ambient light through the layered waveguide.
13. The multi-layer waveguide display of claim 12, wherein the one or more dicing lines comprise a sacrificial material; and preferably wherein the sacrificial material is deposited before depositing a bonding layer on a first waveguide layer of the plurality of waveguide layers of the bonded waveguide stack.
14. A method of fabricating one or more multi-layer waveguides, the method comprising: receiving or forming a first waveguide layer; depositing, on the first waveguide layer, a sacrificial material in one or more regions along one or more dicing lanes; depositing a bonding material at least in part within inner perimeters of the one or more regions with the sacrificial material; bonding a second waveguide layer to the first waveguide layer with the bonding material to form a bonded waveguide stack; and cutting through the bonded waveguide stack along the one or more dicing lanes to form one or more multi-layer waveguides.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein one or more of: i. the bonding material is an optically-clear adhesive material and the one or more dicing lanes are free of the optically-clear adhesive material; ii. depositing the bonding material comprises inkjet depositing a two-dimensional array of droplets of an optically-clear adhesive material on the first waveguide layer; iii. one or both of the second waveguide layer and the bonding material have a refractive index that is the same or lower than a refractive index of the first waveguide layer; iv. the method further comprising forming one or more gratings at an outer surface of at least one of the first and second waveguide layers.
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