Monomers and polymers for optical elements

Abstract

An optical element includes a first lens; a cover; and a cured matrix polymer sandwiched between the first lens and the cover; the matrix polymer, prior to curing, having a monomer mixture dispersed therein; the matrix polymer being selected from the group consisting of polyester, polystyrene, polyacrylate, thiol-cured epoxy polymer, thiol-cured isocyanate polymer, and mixtures thereof; and the monomer mixture comprising a thiol monomer and at least one second monomer selected from the group consisting of ene monomer and yne monomer.

1 . An optical element, comprising:
 a first lens blank;   a cover;   a thiol-cured epoxy matrix polymer sandwiched between the first lens blank and the cover, wherein the thiol-cured epoxy matrix polymer is produced by crosslinking an epoxy polymer and a thiol monomer by utilizing a cross-linking agent, wherein the thiol-cured epoxy matrix polymer further comprises an ene monomer and thiol monomer;   a low order prescription generated on the back surface of the first lens blank, wherein the low order prescription is specific to a patient's eye; and   a crosslinked ene-thiol polymer that is produced by radiation curing the ene monomer and thiol monomer that are dispersed in the thiol-cured epoxy matrix polymer.   
     
     
         2 . The optical element of  claim 1  wherein the low order prescription specific to a patient's eye is determined by using a wavefront aberrometer. 
     
     
         3 . The optical element of  claim 1  further comprising one or more additives selected from the group consisting of a photoinitiator, a polymerization inhibitor, an antioxidant, a photochromic dye, and an UV-absorber. 
     
     
         4 . The optical element of  claim 1  wherein the entire optical element is exposed to uniform radiation curing. 
     
     
         5 . The optical element of  claim 1  wherein a small region of the optical element is exposed to three-dimensionally selective radiation curing to compensate for high order aberrations specific to the patient's eye as determined by using a wavefront aberrometer. 
     
     
         6 . The optical element of  claim 5  wherein the entire optical element is exposed to a second uniform radiation curing to fix the compensated high order aberrations. 
     
     
         7 . The optical element of  claim 1  wherein the crosslinked thiol-cured epoxy polymer has a first degree of cure, wherein the first degree of cure is in the range of about 50% to about 100% and the crosslinked ene-thiol polymer has a second degree of cure, wherein the second degree of cure is in the range of 1% to about 100%, wherein the first and second degree of cure are determined by the difference in refractive index between the uncured and the cured polymer. 
     
     
         8 . The optical element of  claim 1  in which the optical element comprises at least two regions in which the refractive indices are different from each other. 
     
     
         9 . The optical element of  claim 1  in which the difference in refractive indices is between 0.0001 and 0.10. 
     
     
         10 . The optical element of  claim 1  wherein the refractive index of the first lens blank and cover is in the range of about 1.5 to about 1.74. 
     
     
         11 . The optical element of  claim 1  wherein the refractive index of the mixture of crosslinked thiol-cured epoxy polymer and ene-thiol polymer is in the range of about 1.5 to about 1.74. 
     
     
         12 . The optical element of  claim 1  in which the amine is selected from the group consisting of polyethyleneimine and tetraalkyl ammonium halide. 
     
     
         13 . A method of making an optical element, the method comprising:
 selecting a first lens blank;   selecting a second lens blank;   sandwiching a pourable matrix polymer and monomer mixture between the first lens blank and the cover, wherein the matrix polymer comprises an epoxy polymer and the monomer mixture comprises a thiol monomer, a crosslinking agent, and an ene monomer;   forming a gelled mixture of the matrix polymer and the thiol monomer by utilizing the crosslinking agent to produce a thiol-cured epoxy polymer;   generating the second lens blank to make a cover;   generating patient's eye specific low order prescription in the first lens blank; and   forming a cured film by radiation curing the ene monomer and thiol monomer to form a crosslinked ene-thiol polymer that is dispersed in the matrix polymer.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising one or more additives selected from the group consisting of a photoinitiator, a polymerization inhibitor, an antioxidant, a photochromic dye, and an UV-absorber. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the patient's eye specific low order prescription is determined by using a wavefront aberrometer. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the radiation curing is uniform over the entire optical element. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the radiation curing is three-dimensionally selective over a small region to compensate for high order aberrations as determined by using a wavefront aberrometer of the optical element. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein a second uniform radiation curing is performed over the entire optical element to fix the compensated high order aberrations. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the difference in refractive indices is between 0.0001 and 0.10. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the amine is selected from the group consisting of polyethyleneimine and tetraalkyl ammonium halide.