Patent ID: 11960204
Assignee: MOLECULAR IMPRINTS, INC.
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 14:
15. An optical device comprising:
a substrate; and
a diffraction pattern on the substrate, the diffraction pattern comprising a plurality of asymmetric structures, wherein the plurality of asymmetric structures are formed by a process comprising:
forming a plurality of discrete structures extending from a common surface on the substrate;
applying a masking material over the plurality of discrete structures under first conditions that cause the masking material to asymmetrically cover the plurality of discrete structures such that at least a portion of one side of each discrete structure of the plurality of discrete structures is free of the masking material, wherein the first conditions that cause the masking material to asymmetrically cover the discrete structures comprise inclining the substrate at a first non-normal angle to a deposition direction from which the masking material is applied by a deposition system;
applying a metal catalyst layer for metal assisted chemical etching (MACE) over the plurality of discrete structures under second conditions that cause the metal catalyst layer to asymmetrically cover the plurality of discrete structures such that at least a second portion of one side of each discrete structure of the plurality of discrete structures is free of the metal catalyst layer, wherein the second conditions that cause the metal catalyst layer to asymmetrically cover the plurality of discrete structures comprise inclining the substrate at a second non-normal angle to the deposition direction from which the metal catalyst layer is applied by the deposition system, wherein the second non-normal angle is different from the first non-normal angle;
etching an area of the plurality of discrete structures that is not covered by the masking material and that is covered by the metal catalyst layer; and

stripping the masking material from the plurality of discrete structures.