Optical Material and Method for Modifying the Refractive Index

Abstract

A method for modifying the refractive index of an optical, polymeric material. The method comprises irradiating select regions of the optical, polymeric material with a focused, visible or near-IR laser having a pulse energy from 0.05 nJ to 1000 nJ. The irradiation results in the formation of refractive optical structures, which exhibit little or no scattering loss. The method can be used to modify the refractive index of an intraocular lens following the surgical implantation of the intraocular lens in a human eye. The invention is also directed to an optical device comprising refractive optical structures, which exhibit little or no scattering loss and are characterized by a positive change in refractive index.

1 . A method for modifying the refractive index of an optical, polymeric material, the method comprising irradiating select regions of the optical, polymeric material with a focused, visible or near-IR laser having a pulse energy from 0.05 nJ to 1000 nJ, wherein the irradiated regions exhibit little or no scattering loss. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the pulse energy of the laser is from 0.2 nJ to 100 nJ. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the pulse energy of the laser is from 0.5 nJ to 10 nJ. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the visible or near-IR laser generates pulses having a pulse width of 4 fs to 100 fs. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the laser is a pumped Ti:sapphire laser with an average power of 10 mW to 1000 mW 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the focused laser is provided by a compensation scheme selected from the group consisting of at least two prisms and at least one mirror, at least two diffraction gratings, a chirped mirror and dispersion compensating mirrors to compensate for the positive dispersion introduced by the focus objective. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the region of the optical material irradiated by the laser exhibits a positive change in refractive index. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the laser has a wavelength from 400 nm to a 1200 nm. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the laser has a peak intensity of greater than about 10 13  W/cm 2 . 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the optical, polymeric material is a optical material. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the irradiated regions of the optical material are selected from an array of discrete cylinders, a series of lines or a combination of cylinders and lines. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the irradiated regions of the optical material are defined within a two-dimensional plane. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the irradiated regions of the optical material are defined by a three dimensional structure. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the irradiated regions of the optical material are defined by a series of lines having a width from 0.2 μm to 2 μm and a height from 0.4 μm to 6 μm. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the optical material is an intraocular lens that has been positioned in the lens capsule of a patient. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the optical, polymeric material is a hydrogel. 
     
     
         17 . An optical device comprising an optical polymeric material with select regions that have been irradiated with a focused, visible or near-IR laser having a pulse energy from 0.05 nJ to 1000 nJ, wherein the irradiated regions are characterized by a positive change in refractive index and exhibit little or no scattering loss. 
     
     
         18 . The optical device of  claim 17  wherein the optical, polymeric material is a completely polymerized, optical material. 
     
     
         19 . The optical device of  claim 17  wherein the irradiated regions of the optical device are selected from an array of discrete cylinders, a series of lines or a combination of cylinders and a series of lines. 
     
     
         20 . The optical device of  claim 17  wherein the irradiated regions of the optical material are defined by a two-dimensional plane. 
     
     
         21 . The optical device of  claim 17  wherein the irradiated regions of the optical material are defined by a three dimensional structure. 
     
     
         22 . The optical device of  claim 17  selected from an intraocular lens, a corneal inlay, a corneal ring or a keratoprothesis. 
     
     
         23 . A method for modifying the refractive index of an intraocular lens following the surgical insertion of the intraocular lens in a human eye, the method comprising:
 identifying and measuring the aberrations caused by the intraocular lens resulting from the surgical procedure;   determining the position and shape of structures to be written into the lens to correct for the aberrations; and   irradiating select regions of the lens with a focused, visible or near-IR laser having a pulse energy from 0.05 nJ to 1000 nJ, wherein the irradiated regions are characterized by a positive change in refractive index and exhibit little or no scattering loss.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23  further comprising verifying the vision correction provided by the irradiated regions. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23  wherein the pulse energy of the laser is from 0.2 nJ to 100 nJ. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25  wherein the visible or near-IR laser generates pulses having a pulse width of 4 fs to 100 fs. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 23  wherein the focused laser is provided by a compensation scheme selected from the group consisting of at least two prisms and at least one mirror, at least two diffraction gratings, a chirped mirror and dispersion compensating mirrors to compensate for the positive dispersion introduced by the focus objective. 
     
     
         28 . A laser in combination with an optical arrangement for modifying the refractive index of a polymeric, optical material, the optical arrangement comprising a focus objective and a compensation scheme selected from the group consisting of at least two prisms and at least one mirror, at least two diffraction gratings, a chirped mirror and dispersion compensating mirrors, to compensate for the positive dispersion introduced by the focus objective.