Abstract: A pupil replication waveguide for a projector display includes a slab of transparent material for propagating display light in the slab via total internal reflection. A diffraction grating is supported by the slab. The diffraction grating includes a plurality of tapered slanted fringes in a substrate for out-coupling the display light from the slab by diffraction into a blazed diffraction order. A greater portion of the display light is out-coupled into the blazed diffraction order, and a smaller portion of the display light is out-coupled into a non-blazed diffraction order. The tapered fringes result in the duty cycle of the diffraction grating varying along the thickness direction of the diffraction grating, to facilitate suppressing the portion of the display light out-coupled into the non-blazed diffraction order.

Abstract: A method is described for utilizing NIL materials with switchable mechanical properties. The method comprises applying an imprint mask to a nano-imprint lithography (NIL) material layer. The NIL material layer is comprised of a NIL material with a modulus level below a flexibility threshold. The NIL material layer has an internal property, that when changed, causes a change in the modulus level of the NIL material. The method further comprises detaching the imprinted NIL material layer from the imprint mask, with the low modulus level of the NIL material causing a shape of the imprinted NIL material layer to remain unchanged after detachment. A modulus level of the NIL material is increased by changing an internal property of the NIL material, with the modulus level increased beyond a strength threshold to create a first imprint layer that has a structure that remains unaffected by a subsequent process.

Abstract: Techniques for producing an overcoat layer on slanted surface-relief structures and devices obtained using the techniques are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method of planarizing an overcoat layer over a surface-relief structure includes removing a portion of the overcoat layer using an ion beam at a glancing angle. The overcoat layer includes planar surface portions and non-planar surface portions. Each of the non-planar surface portions includes a first sloped side and a second sloped side facing the first sloped side. The glancing angle is selected such that the first sloped side of each non-planar surface portion is shadowed from the ion beam by an adjacent planar surface portion such that the ion beam does not reach at least the first sloped side of each non-planar surface portion but reaches the second sloped side of each non-planar surface portion.

Abstract: A high performing low viscosity tire sealant includes about 15% to about 75% by weight of a biobased aliphatic diol, about 5% to about 50% by weight natural rubber latex, and about 2% to about 50% by weight synthetic rubber latex. The tire sealant exhibits excellent performance at temperatures of ?40 degrees Celsius and lower.

Abstract: A manufacturing system performs a deposition of an etch-compatible film over a substrate. The etch-compatible film includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The manufacturing system performs a partial removal of the etch-compatible film to create a surface profile on the first surface with a plurality of depths relative to the substrate. The manufacturing system performs a deposition of a second material over the profile created in the etch-compatible film. The manufacturing system performs a planarization of the second material to obtain a plurality of etch heights of the second material in accordance with the plurality of depths in the profile created in the etch-compatible film. The manufacturing system performs a lithographic patterning of a photoresist deposited over the planarized second material to obtain the plurality of etch heights and one or more duty cycles in the second material.

Abstract: The problem of ever-increasing huge volume of unstructured data, mainly documents, and within that the scanned documents, needs to have a solution to expedite the overall turnaround time in document centric business processing. Majority of these documents often do not strictly follow a specific format or a template, and creating a generic OCR solution, which would work on any kind of document format is needed to enhance overall efficacy of processes. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide system and method that extract tabular and text information from scanned documents. More specifically, method and system are provided to extract user filled tabular data, textual information, selected radio-buttons and checked checkboxes, stamps, barcodes from scanned copies of any filled form with or without any template being pre-defined or without any prior knowledge about format of input forms. The system converts extracted information in a structured form for further for analytics and reporting.

Abstract: A multi-layer waveguide display includes a base waveguide layer, one or more grating couplers on one or two surfaces of the base waveguide layer, an overcoat layer on each grating coupler of the one or more grating couplers and filling grating grooves of the grating coupler, and a first waveguide layer stack on a first side of the base waveguide layer. The first waveguide layer stack includes one or more polymer layers. Each of the one or more polymer layers is characterized by a respective refractive index lower than the refractive index of the base waveguide layer. Each polymer layer is formed in a plurality of process cycles, where each process cycle includes dispensing a two-dimensional array of droplets of a resin material to form a thin layer and cross-linking the thin layer to form a sublayer of the polymer layer.

Abstract: A method is described for modifying the mechanical properties of NIL materials. The method includes applying an imprint mask to a nano-imprint lithography (NIL) material layer to create an imprinted NIL material layer, with the NIL material layer comprised of a NIL material. The method further includes detaching the imprinted NIL material layer from the imprint mask, with the modulus level of the NIL material below a flexibility threshold to cause a shape of the imprinted NIL material layer to remain unchanged after detachment. The modulus level of the NIL material of the imprinted NIL material layer is increased beyond a strength threshold to create a first imprint layer, with the imprint layer having a structure that remains unaffected by a subsequent process to form a second imprint layer matching a master mold pattern.

Abstract: Techniques for overcoating slanted structures and devices obtained using the techniques are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method of forming an overcoat layer on a surface-relief structure on a substrate includes receiving the substrate with the surface-relief structure. The surface-relief structure includes a plurality of ridges slanted with respect to the substrate, and a plurality of grooves each between two adjacent ridges. The method further includes depositing, in each cycle of a plurality of cycles, a uniform layer of an overcoat material on surfaces of the plurality of ridges and bottoms of the plurality of grooves. The deposited layers of the overcoat material and the plurality of ridges collectively form a light-coupling structure on the substrate. A surface of the overcoat layer is planar.

Abstract: A method of fabricating gratings with variable grating depths including depositing a first grating material layer with a uniform thickness profile on a substrate, forming an etch mask layer having a variable thickness profile on the first grating material layer, etching the etch mask layer and the first grating material layer to change the uniform thickness profile of the first grating material layer to a non-uniform thickness profile, forming a patterned hard mask on the first grating material layer, and etching, using the patterned hard mask, the first grating material layer to form a grating with a variable depth in the first grating material layer.

Abstract: Gray-tone lithography techniques for controlling the thickness profile of an overcoat layer on a surface-relief grating that has a non-uniform grating parameter (e.g., depth, duty cycle, or period), compensating for the non-uniform etch rate in a large area, defining etch/block regions, and/or controlling the thickness of the grating layer.

Abstract: Techniques for fabricating a slanted structure are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of fabricating a slanted surface-relief structure in a material layer includes forming a thin hard mask on top of an intermediate mask layer, etching the intermediate mask layer at a slant angle using the thin hard mask to form a slanted intermediate mask, and etching the material layer at the slant angle using the slanted intermediate mask to form the slanted surface-relief structure in the material layer. The intermediate mask layer is characterized by an etch rate greater than an etch rate of the material layer.

Abstract: A surface-relief grating includes a base surface-relief grating comprising a plurality of ridges that include a first material, and a second material on only a top surface or a single sidewall of each ridge of the plurality of ridges, where the second material is different from the first material. A method of fabricating the surface-relief grating includes etching or molding a base surface-relief grating that includes a plurality of ridges, depositing a material layer on the plurality of ridges, and selectively etching the material layer to increase a height or a slant angle of an edge of a ridge in the plurality of ridges to make the surface-relief grating that includes the base surface-relief grating.

Abstract: A method is described for modifying the mechanical properties of NIL materials. The method includes applying an imprint mask to a nano-imprint lithography (NIL) material layer to create an imprinted NIL material layer, with the NIL material layer comprised of a NIL material. The method further includes detaching the imprinted NIL material layer from the imprint mask, with the modulus level of the NIL material below a flexibility threshold to cause a shape of the imprinted NIL material layer to remain unchanged after detachment. The modulus level of the NIL material of the imprinted NIL material layer is increased beyond a strength threshold to create a first imprint layer, with the imprint layer having a structure that remains unaffected by a subsequent process to form a second imprint layer matching a master mold pattern.

Abstract: A method is described for creating a modified mask with low surface energies for a nano-imprint lithography (NIL) imprinting process. The method includes applying a master mold to an imprint mask material to create an imprint mask. The method further includes modifying the imprint mask by applying a treatment to the imprint mask to cause a surface energy level of the imprint mask to fall below a sticking threshold. The modified imprint mask is applied to a nano-imprint lithography (NIL) material to create an imprinted NIL material layer. The surface energy level of the imprint mask causes a shape of the imprinted NIL material layer to be remain unchanged when the imprinted NIL material layer is detached from the modified imprint mask.

Abstract: A surface-relief structure and techniques for fabricating the surface-relief structure are disclosed. The surface-relief structure includes a substrate, a plurality of ridges on the substrate, and a plurality of grooves each between two adjacent ridges. The plurality of ridges are slanted with respect to the substrate, and include a material having a refractive index at least 2.3. Regions of the substrate at bottoms of the plurality of grooves include at least one of hydrogen or nitrogen at a concentration of at least 1010/cm3.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a slanted surface-relief structure in a material layer using a chemically assisted reactive ion beam etching (CARIBE) system includes generating, by a reactive ion source generator of the CARIBE system using a first reactive gas, a plasma including reactive ions of the first reactive gas that are configured to react with the material layer to generate volatile materials; extracting and accelerating, by one or more grids of the CARIBE system, at least some of the reactive ions in the plasma to form a reactive ion beam towards the material layer; and injecting, by a gas ring of the CARIBE system, a second reactive gas onto the material layer, the second reactive gas configured to react with the material layer. The reactive ion beam and the second reactive gas etch the material layer both physically and chemically to form the slanted surface-relief structure in the material layer.

Abstract: A manufacturing system performs a deposition of an etch-compatible film over a substrate. The etch-compatible film includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The manufacturing system performs a partial removal of the etch-compatible film to create a surface profile on the first surface with a plurality of etch heights relative to the substrate. The manufacturing system performs a lithographic patterning of a photoresist deposited over the created profile in the etch-compatible film to obtain the plurality of etch heights and one or more duty cycles corresponding to the etch-compatible film deposited over the substrate.

Abstract: A surface-relief structure and techniques for fabricating the surface-relief structure are disclosed. The surface-relief structure includes a substrate, a plurality of ridges on the substrate, and a plurality of grooves each between two adjacent ridges. The plurality of ridges are slanted with respect to the substrate, and include a material having a refractive index at least 2.3. Regions of the substrate at bottoms of the plurality of grooves include at least one of hydrogen or nitrogen at a concentration of at least 1010/cm3.

Abstract: A pupil replication waveguide for a projector display includes a slab of transparent material for propagating display light in the slab via total internal reflection. A diffraction grating is supported by the slab. The diffraction grating includes a plurality of tapered slanted fringes in a substrate for out-coupling the display light from the slab by diffraction into a blazed diffraction order. A greater portion of the display light is out-coupled into the blazed diffraction order, and a smaller portion of the display light is out-coupled into a non-blazed diffraction order. The tapered fringes result in the duty cycle of the diffraction grating varying along the thickness direction of the diffraction grating, to facilitate suppressing the portion of the display light out-coupled into the non-blazed diffraction order.