USE OF ELECTRO-STATIC MASK TO APPLY LAYERS TO AN ELECTRO-ACTIVE OPTICAL ELEMENT

1 . A method for manufacturing an electro-active lens, comprising the steps of:

providing a substrate having a first surface;

disposing a mask over at least a portion of the first surface of the substrate,

wherein the mask comprises an electro-static plastic material, and

wherein the mask has at least one opening;

depositing a layer of material through the at least one opening of the mask.

2 . The method of claim I, wherein the electro-static plastic material comprises a vinyl film.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the vinyl film comprises PVC.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mask has a thickness that is between 50 and 200 microns.

5 - 6 . (canceled)

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mask adheres to the first surface of the substrate based on an electro-static interaction.

8 - 9 . (canceled)

10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the electro-static interaction creates an electro-static force between the first surface of the substrate and the mask of between 200 and 600N.

11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the electro-static interaction creates a peel strength of at least 0.1 N per 25 mm width.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mask is flexible.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mask comprises a material having a flexural rigidity between 30 and 60 MPa.

14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of disposing a liner between the mask and the substrate.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the liner between the mask and the substrate comprises any one of or some combination of polyolefins (PP, HDPE, LOPE), PVC, PET, paper.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the layer of material through the at least one opening of the mask comprises at least one of: spin coating, spray-coating, or dip-coating.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of disposing the mask over at least a portion of the fust surface of the substrate comprises aligning the mask based a t least M put on an optical feature disposed on the first surface of the substrate.

18 . (canceled)

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the optical feature comprises a diffractive element

20 . (canceled)

21 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer of material deposited through the at least one opening of the mask comprises any one of, or some combination of: a conductive layer or a liquid crystal alignment layer.

22 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer of material deposited through the at least one opening of the mask comprises a transparent conductive oxide (TCO).

23 . (canceled)

24 . A method comprising

providing a substrate having a first surface and a first optical feature;

disposing a mask over at least a portion o the first surface of the substrate,

wherein the mask comprises an electro-static material that creates an electro-static force between the first surface of the substrate and the mask of at least 200N; and

wherein the mask has at least one opening;

depositing a layer of material through the at least one opening of the mask

25 . The method of claim 24 ,

wherein the substrate comprises an outer perimeter; and

wherein disposing the mask over at least a portion of the first surface of the substrate comprises positioning at least the one opening over a region of the first surface that extends to within 3.0 mm of the outer perimeter.

26 - 27 . (canceled)

28 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the layer of material deposited through the at least one opening of the mask comprises a conductive material.

29 . The method of claim 25 , further comprising the step of edging the substrate so as to expose the conductive layer.

30 . The method of claim 24 ,

wherein the substrate comprises an outer perimeter;

wherein the first surface of the substrate comprises an optical feature; and

Wherein disposing the mask over at least a portion of the first surface of the substrate comprises positioning at least the one opening, over a region of the first surface that extends from the optical feature to the outer perimeter.

31 . (canceled)