OLED display in a contact lens

A unique three-dimensional printer has been created,
Capable of printing contact lenses with integrated OLED display

DailyTechInfo based on New Scientist materials: Contact lenses with built-in video could be 3D printedDevices such as Google Glass and other wearable devices implementing the technology of the so-called augmented reality, which have not yet become widespread, may lose their relevance if contact lenses with OLED displays built into them (OLED – Organic Light Emitting Diode, organic fluorescent diode) appear on the consumer market.

And the fact that such lenses are quickly and inexpensively manufactured using a specialized three-dimensional printer can cause their rapid and widespread distribution.

Most existing 3D printers are capable of printing small, simple objects using plastic waste or certain metals. To print high-quality contact lenses, completely different three-dimensional printers should be used, and such a printer was developed by a group of researchers from Princeton University, led by Michael McAlpine. The capabilities of this printer allow you not only to print a contact lens consisting of five different layers containing an OLED matrix that emits light directly into the human eye. The capabilities of this printer even allow you to print lenses, the shape of which corresponds to the shape of the eyeballs of the future owner as much as possible.

The basis of a contact lens is a transparent polymer with several components enclosed in its volume. The first and most important component is a matrix of high-performance LEDs on quantum dots made of silver nanoparticles, organic polymers and some other materials that act as elements of the electronic display circuit. Other layers serve to give the lens a certain shape, provide it with the property of elasticity and give it the necessary optical characteristics.

The most difficult task that the researchers had to face was the selection of the exact composition of solvents intended for gluing individual layers of a contact lens. Another problem is that people's eyeballs have different shapes. To solve this problem, the researchers used two cameras, which were used to control the shape of the lens during production. When deviations were detected, specialized software made the necessary corrections to ensure that the final shape of the lens would match the shape of the user's eyes.

It should be noted that the work on the creation of a specialized three-dimensional printer and contact lenses was funded by the US Air Force, which is going to use such lenses to demonstrate various operational and tactical information to combat aircraft pilots. But such technology has the possibility of more peaceful use. If the LED matrix is supplemented with photosensitive sensors, such lenses can become a device that controls some parameters of the human body's vital activity.

Among these parameters there is also an indicator of human fatigue. "Modern airplanes and cars have a lot of sensors that control everything and everything. But at the same time, almost all control systems bypass the most important parameter – the degree of fatigue of the pilot or driver," says Michael McAlpine, "With the help of our contact lenses, it will be possible to control this and other equally important parameters."

However, moving the developed technology for manufacturing contact lenses from the walls of the laboratory to the cockpit will be a very, very difficult task. "Such an LED display printed on a three-dimensional printer is undoubtedly a very interesting development. Nevertheless, the electrical voltage at which the LEDs operate with maximum efficiency is still too high to use it directly in a contact lens," says Raymond Murray, an expert in optical technology from Imperial College in London, "In addition, the developers of the device need to guarantee that that their device is completely safe for humans. After all, some materials used to make quantum dots, such as cadmium selenide, are very dangerous to human health."

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru27.11.2014