Waveguide Encoded Lattices (WELs): Slim Polymer Films with Panoramic Fields of View (FOV) and Multiple Imaging Functionality

When encoded with a 3D network of interconnected and pentadirectional waveguides, an otherwise passive polymer film transforms into an intelligent optical element—a waveguide encoded lattice (WEL)—that combines a panoramic field of view, infinite depth of field and powerful capacity to perform multiple imaging operations such as divergence-free transmission, focusing, and inversion. The lattices are moreover operable with coherent and incoherent light at all visible wavelengths, both individually (e.g., narrow band sources such as lasers, light-emitting diodes) and collectively (e.g., incandescent sources). This combination of properties is unprecedented in single-component films and the WEL structures represent a new class of flexible, slim films that could confer advanced optical functionalities when integrated with light-based technologies (e.g., solar panels, smart phone cameras, and smart screens) and are amenable to the design and fabrication of new miniaturized optical and optoelectronic devices.