Patent ID: 8198018

Claim:
A method of producing an optical component, wherein the method comprises: (a) applying an organic-inorganic hybrid material to a substrate or placing the organic-inorganic hybrid material into or onto a mold, (b) optionally, drying the hybrid material to render it solid or viscous, (c) patternwise irradiating by holography the solid or viscous hybrid material to produce a refractive index gradient in the hybrid material, and (d) thermally and/or photochemically curing the heated or irradiated hybrid material substantially completely to fix the refractive index gradient; the organic-inorganic hybrid material comprising: (i) at least one organic polymer selected from one or more of a polyacrylate, a polymethacrylate, a polyepoxide, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral, and polyacrylamide and having a solubility in an organic solvent of at least 20 g/L at 20° C., and (ii) one or more mono- or polynuclear metal complexes comprising at least one alkoxide group on a central metal thereof and further having at least one ligand that (i) is selected from carboxylic acids, β-diketones, CH-acidic compounds, chelate ligands, amino acids, peptides, proteins, and corresponding bases thereof, and (ii) comprises at least one group which is at least one of photochemically and thermally polymerizable, the central metal comprising at least one of Ti, Zr, Ta, and Nb, provided that the hybrid material does not comprise any hydrolyzable or hydrolyzed silanes or any condensation products thereof, the method further comprising at least one of a hydrolysis and an acidolysis of alkoxide groups of the one or more metal complexes (ii) with formation of oxidic bonds to increase the refractive index gradient produced in (c).