MONOMERS AND POLYMERS FOR OPTICAL ELEMENTS
An optical element includes a first lens; a cover; and a cured matrix polymer sandwiched between the first lens and the cover; the matrix polymer, prior to curing, having a monomer mixture dispersed therein; the matrix polymer being selected from the group consisting of polyester, polystyrene, polyacrylate, thiol-cured epoxy polymer, thiol-cured isocyanate polymer, and mixtures thereof; and the monomer mixture comprising a thiol monomer and at least one second monomer selected from the group consisting of ene monomer and yne monomer.
1 . An optical element, comprising:
a first lens blank;
a cover;
a thiol-cured epoxy matrix polymer sandwiched between the first lens blank and the cover, wherein the thiol-cured epoxy matrix polymer is produced by crosslinking an epoxy polymer and a thiol monomer by utilizing a cross-linking agent, wherein the thiol-cured epoxy matrix polymer further comprises an ene monomer and thiol monomer;
a low order prescription generated on the back surface of the first lens blank, wherein the low order prescription is specific to a patient's eye; and
a crosslinked ene-thiol polymer that is produced by radiation curing the ene monomer and thiol monomer that are dispersed in the thiol-cured epoxy matrix polymer.
2 . The optical element of claim 1 wherein the low order prescription specific to a patient's eye is determined by using a wavefront aberrometer.
3 . The optical element of claim 1 further comprising one or more additives selected from the group consisting of a photoinitiator, a polymerization inhibitor, an antioxidant, a photochromic dye, and an UV-absorber.
4 . The optical element of claim 1 wherein the entire optical element is exposed to uniform radiation curing.
5 . The optical element of claim 1 wherein a small region of the optical element is exposed to three-dimensionally selective radiation curing to compensate for high order aberrations specific to the patient's eye as determined by using a wavefront aberrometer.
6 . The optical element of claim 5 wherein the entire optical element is exposed to a second uniform radiation curing to fix the compensated high order aberrations.
7 . The optical element of claim 1 wherein the crosslinked thiol-cured epoxy polymer has a first degree of cure, wherein the first degree of cure is in the range of about 50% to about 100% and the crosslinked ene-thiol polymer has a second degree of cure, wherein the second degree of cure is in the range of 1% to about 100%, wherein the first and second degree of cure are determined by the difference in refractive index between the uncured and the cured polymer.
8 . The optical element of claim 1 in which the optical element comprises at least two regions in which the refractive indices are different from each other.
9 . The optical element of claim 1 in which the difference in refractive indices is between 0.0001 and 0.10.
10 . The optical element of claim 1 wherein the refractive index of the first lens blank and cover is in the range of about 1.5 to about 1.74.
11 . The optical element of claim 1 wherein the refractive index of the mixture of crosslinked thiol-cured epoxy polymer and ene-thiol polymer is in the range of about 1.5 to about 1.74.
12 . The optical element of claim 1 in which the amine is selected from the group consisting of polyethyleneimine and tetraalkyl ammonium halide.
13 . A method of making an optical element, the method comprising:
selecting a first lens blank;
selecting a second lens blank;
sandwiching a pourable matrix polymer and monomer mixture between the first lens blank and the cover, wherein the matrix polymer comprises an epoxy polymer and the monomer mixture comprises a thiol monomer, a crosslinking agent, and an ene monomer;
forming a gelled mixture of the matrix polymer and the thiol monomer by utilizing the crosslinking agent to produce a thiol-cured epoxy polymer;
generating the second lens blank to make a cover;
generating patient's eye specific low order prescription in the first lens blank; and
forming a cured film by radiation curing the ene monomer and thiol monomer to form a crosslinked ene-thiol polymer that is dispersed in the matrix polymer.
14 . The method of claim 13 further comprising one or more additives selected from the group consisting of a photoinitiator, a polymerization inhibitor, an antioxidant, a photochromic dye, and an UV-absorber.
15 . The method of claim 13 wherein the patient's eye specific low order prescription is determined by using a wavefront aberrometer.
16 . The method of claim 13 wherein the radiation curing is uniform over the entire optical element.
17 . The method of claim 13 wherein the radiation curing is three-dimensionally selective over a small region to compensate for high order aberrations as determined by using a wavefront aberrometer of the optical element.
18 . The method of claim 17 wherein a second uniform radiation curing is performed over the entire optical element to fix the compensated high order aberrations.
19 . The method of claim 13 wherein the difference in refractive indices is between 0.0001 and 0.10.
20 . The method of claim 13 wherein the amine is selected from the group consisting of polyethyleneimine and tetraalkyl ammonium halide.