US-20260126386-A1 - OPTICAL SYSTEM, OPTICAL CONSTRUCTION, OPTICALLY RECYCLING MULTI-WELL PLATE, AND OPTICAL DETECTION SYSTEM

US20260126386A1US 20260126386 A1US20260126386 A1US 20260126386A1US-20260126386-A1

Abstract

An optical system includes a backlight configured to emit light from an emission surface thereof, and a front reflector. The backlight includes at least one light source configured to emit a first light having at least a first wavelength. The front reflector is disposed on a back reflector and defines a recycling optical cavity therebetween. The front reflector defines at least one opening therein. When a test material is disposed in the recycling optical cavity, the test material is configured to emit a second light having at least a second wavelength in response to a stimulus. The emitted second light exits the optical system through the at least one opening of the front reflector after being recycled in the recycling optical cavity. The recycling affects an optical intensity of the exiting light.

Inventors

Bharat R. Acharya
Zhaohui Yang
Jessica E. DeMay
John A. Wheatley
David A. Rosen
Brett J. Sitter
Aaron M. Marcella
Jonah Shaver
Michael L. Steiner
Raj Rajagopal
Gregory W. Sitton

Assignees

3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20220729

Claims (10)

1 . An optical system comprising: a backlight configured to emit a light from an emission surface thereof and comprising: at least one light source configured to emit a first light having at least a first wavelength; and at least one light redirecting film disposed on a back reflector for at least redirecting the first light emitted by the at least one light source, the emission surface, the at least one light redirecting film and the back reflector substantially co-extensive with each other in length and width; and a front reflector disposed on the back reflector and defining a recycling optical cavity therebetween, the front reflector defining at least one opening therein, such that for a substantially normally incident light: each of the back reflector and at least a first region of the front reflector adjacent the at least one opening reflects at least 60% of the incident light for each of the at least the first wavelength and a different at least a second wavelength; and the at least one opening and the at least first region of the front reflector have respective optical transmittances T1 and T2 at the at least the second wavelength, T1>1.2 T2; such that when a test material is disposed in the recycling optical cavity, the test material is configured to emit a second light having the at least the second wavelength in response to a stimulus, and the emitted second light exits the optical system through the at least one opening of the front reflector after being recycled in the recycling optical cavity, the recycling affecting an optical intensity of the exiting light.
2 . The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the stimulus comprises an optical stimulus, such that in response to the light emitted by the backlight having the at least the first wavelength, the test material emits the second light having the at least the second wavelength.
3 . The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the stimulus comprises a chemical stimulus, such that in response to a chemical reaction, the test material emits the second light having the at least the second wavelength.
4 . The optical system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the at least one opening is a physical through opening extending from a first major surface of the front reflector to an opposite second major surface of the front reflector.
5 . The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the backlight further comprises: a lightguide for propagating the first light therein along a length and a width of the lightguide, the lightguide disposed between the at least one light redirecting film and the back reflector, the back reflector configured to reflect light that exits the lightguide propagating toward the back reflector, the reflected light propagating toward the at least one light redirecting film; and a reflective polarizer disposed on the at least one light redirecting film and comprising the emission surface of the backlight.
6 . An optical system comprising: a backlight configured to provide substantially polarized uniform illumination to a display panel through an emission surface thereof and comprising a back reflector substantially co-extensive in length and width with the emission surface; and a plurality of optical cells disposed on and arranged across the emission surface, each of the optical cells comprising: a top wall disposed on, and spaced apart from, the emission surface and defining at least one output window therein having a total area Al and surrounded by a remaining portion of the top wall, the top wall and the back reflector of the backlight defining an optical recycling cavity therebetween, such that for a substantially normally incident light having a signal wavelength, each of the back reflector and the remaining portion of the top wall has an optical reflectance of at least 60% and the at least one output window has an optical transmittance of at least 60%, the optical cell configured to receive therein a test material configured to emit a signal light having the signal wavelength in response to a stimulus, the emitted signal light exiting the optical cell through the at least one output window after being recycled in the recycling optical cavity, the recycling enhancing an optical intensity of the exiting light.
7 . The optical system of claim 7 , wherein each of the optical cells further comprises a bottom wall disposed between the top wall and the emission surface and defining at least one input window therein having a total area A2, A2>A1.
8 . The optical system of claim 7 , wherein each of the optical cells further comprises one or more side walls extending from the top wall toward the emission surface, and wherein for a substantially normally incident light having the signal wavelength, the one or more side walls has an optical reflectance of at least 60%.
9 . The optical system of claim 7 , wherein the at least one output window comprises a physical through opening extending from a first outermost major surface of the top wall to an opposite second outermost major surface of the top wall.
10 . An optical construction comprising: a bottom reflector; a top reflector disposed on the bottom reflector; and a middle reflector disposed between the top and bottom reflectors, the top reflector defining therein a plurality of spaced apart top groups of one or more top openings, the middle reflector defining therein a plurality of spaced apart middle groups of one or more middle openings, the top and middle groups in a one-to-one correspondence with each other, such that for each of the corresponding groups of one or more top and middle openings: a total area of the top openings is less than a total area of the middle openings; and the one or more top and middle openings are configured to receive a test material therebetween, the test material configured to emit a signal light having a signal wavelength in response to a stimulus, such that for a substantially normally incident light having the signal wavelength, each of the top, middle and bottom reflectors has an optical reflectance of at least 60% and each of the top and middle openings has an optical transmittance of at least 60%.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates, in general, to an optical system and an optical detection system. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an optical system including an optical construction, and an optical detection system including an optically recycling multi-well plate. BACKGROUND In some cases, optical methods are implemented for detection of target analytes, i.e., the presence of target analytes may alter one or more optical characteristics of a light in response to a stimulus, or stimuli. Conventionally, the light in response to the stimulus, or the stimuli has a low optical intensity. SUMMARY In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides an optical system including a backlight and a front reflector. The backlight is configured to emit a light from an emission surface thereof. The backlight includes at least one light source configured to emit a first light having at least a first wavelength. The backlight further includes at least one light redirecting film disposed on a back reflector for at least redirecting the first light emitted by the at least one light source. The emission surface, the at least one light redirecting film, and the back reflector are substantially co-extensive with each other in length and width. The front reflector is disposed on the back reflector and defines a recycling optical cavity therebetween. The front reflector defines at least one opening therein. For a substantially normally incident light, each of the back reflector and at least a first region of the front reflector adjacent the at least one opening reflects at least 60% of the incident light for each of the at least the first wavelength and a different at least a second wavelength. Further, for the substantially normally incident light, the at least one opening and at least the first region of the front reflector have respective optical transmittances T1 and T2 at the at least the second wavelength, T1>1.2 T2, such that when a test material is disposed in the recycling optical cavity, the test material is configured to emit a second light having the at least the second wavelength in response to a stimulus, and the emitted second light exits the optical system through the at least one opening of the front reflector after being recycled in the recycling optical cavity. The recycling affects an optical characteristic of the exiting light. In some cases, the optical characteristic of the exiting light is an optical intensity of the exiting light. In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides an optical system including a backlight and a plurality of optical cells. The backlight is configured to provide substantially polarized illumination to optical cells through an emission surface thereof. In some cases, the backlight is configured to provide substantially polarized illumination to a display panel through the emission surface thereof. The backlight includes a back reflector substantially co-extensive in length and width with the emission surface. The plurality of optical cells is disposed on and arranged across the emission surface. Each of the optical cells includes a top wall disposed on, and spaced apart from, the emission surface and defining at least one output window therein. The at least one output window has a total area Al. The at least one output window is surrounded by a remaining portion of the top wall. The top wall and the back reflector of the backlight define an optical recycling cavity therebetween. For a substantially normally incident light having a signal wavelength, each of the back reflector and the remaining portion of the top wall has an optical reflectance of at least 60% and the at least one output window has an optical transmittance of at least 60%. The optical cell is configured to receive therein a test material. The test material is configured to emit a signal light having the signal wavelength in response to a stimulus. The emitted signal light exits the optical cell through the at least one output window after being recycled in the recycling optical cavity. The recycling enhances an optical characteristic of the exiting light. In some cases, the optical characteristic of the exiting light is an optical intensity of the exiting light. In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides an optical construction. The optical construction includes a bottom reflector. The optical construction further includes a top reflector disposed on the bottom reflector. The optical construction further includes a middle reflector disposed between the top and bottom reflectors. The top reflector defines therein a plurality of spaced apart top groups of one or more top openings. The middle reflector defines therein a plurality of spaced apart middle groups of one or more middle openings. The top and middle groups are in a one-to-one correspondence with each other. For each of the corresponding groups of one or more top and middle openings, a total area of the top opening