Company
Portfolio Data
Back to Company SearchZENWA,INCORPORATED
UEI: DAHTL1NK2VD9
Number of Employees: 4
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: Yes
SBIR/STTR Involvement
Year of first award: 2005
3
Phase I Awards
1
Phase II Awards
33.33%
Conversion Rate
$444,617
Phase I Dollars
$499,990
Phase II Dollars
$944,607
Total Awarded
Awards
STTR Phase I: On-demand optical printing of high-performance personalized eyeglass lenses
Amount: $225,000 Topic: MN
This SBIR Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of producing ophthalmic lenses utilizing a low cost optical printer that will enable the fabrication of superior quality lenses with a low cost optical printer. The result is development of a business model where an eye exam is administered, prescription lenses are printed and glasses assembled and dispensed in a single visit. Upon completing the refraction portion of the eye exam, the lens prescriptions will be electronically transferred to the optical lens printer. The lens blanks, pre-treated for UV and anti-scratch protection, will contain a laser writable photopolymer layer that accepts and freezes the personalized prescriptions. Eyeglasses produced with this method will be of equal or higher in optical quality compared to traditional lenses and can be produced at a fraction of the cost of conventional lenses. This method of producing ophthalmic lenses both reduces the turnaround time for securing eyeglasses but equally important, will significantly reduce the cost for producing eyeglasses translating to lower the retail prices. Considering that over 60% of the US population wears glasses and a much high percentage of families have members that depend on glasses, this project will benefit the vast majority of US taxpayers. The goal of this STTR Phase 1 proposal is to demonstrate the feasibility of three coupled innovations: 1) a high-speed optical printer for 2) photosensitive ophthalmic lens blanks that record 3) novel gradient-index diffractive optics which provide dramatically improved fabrication cost, visual performance and lighter weight over existing lens making technologies. The target application will be low cost, low and higher order aberration correcting eyeglass lenses fabricated with a compact, inexpensive optical printer. Lenses produced with this light based process will match or exceed the optical quality of current free form lenses made with computer numerical controlled milling machines costing in the range of $250k to $500k. This proposed lens making innovation enables the development of an eyeglass dispensing business model that could eliminate the need for conventional centralized eyeglass labs, the associated distribution networks, a comprehensive inventory of lens blanks and the long wait times for procuring prescription eyeglasses. The developments of this STTR will allow ophthalmic practices to better serve their patients, enabling on-site fabrication of superior corrective lenses that more closely match eye deficiencies. By the end of phase I, the goal is to optimize the photopolymer materials, refine the light sources and complete an engineering model of the optical printer.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2017
NSF
STTR Phase II: 3D Lithography of Thick Photopolymers for Imaging and Photonic Crystal Waveguides
Amount: $499,990 Topic: AM
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will culminate in a new form of 3D lithography capable of fabricating imaging arrays and photonic-crystal waveguides that are cheaper, higher performance, lighter, more flexible and have capabilities not currently possible with current ?stack and draw? manufacturing. For example, by directly fabricating these parts at the micron scale, perturbations such as global scaling (to implement magnifying arrays), global rotation (to implement image inverters) or local scaling (to implement modal tapers or integrated lenslets) can be created in a single process step. Unlike current methods which must draw out a minimum of km from a preform, here single parts can be cm in length. The imaging arrays have significant commercial potential as replacements for current endoscopes, fiber face plates and image inverters. They also enable new markets including inexpensive eye monitoring for clinical and public safety applications, wearable gaze-tracking for human-computer interface for paralysis victims, and ultra lightweight heads-up displays for military and consumer entertainment. The team will develop both the lithography and materials to create these all-polymer imaging cables. The transport and manipulation of optical images is ubiquitous but nearly uniformly implemented with delicate, rigid lens trains. Discrete imaging devices such as fiber bundles are sufficient for modern digital displays and cameras and are naturally robust, but currently limited by cost and capability. By enabling flexible, lightweight transport of discrete images, the results will impact ? Education, Medical and Biological Research and Macular Degeneration. The Phase I including supplementary funding has partially funded 7graduate, 1 post-doc and two undergraduate students. An exchange of graduate students with Dublin Ireland extended this impact. The lithography system has been used in multiple undergraduate class projects and for multiple cross-disciplinary graduate research programs. Disposable endoscopes with high resolution, small diameter and large field of view exceed current capabilities at much lower costs. Zenwa has signed a collaborative agreement with the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute to develop a lightweight customized image delivery system to restore sight to the severely vision impaired.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase II
2008
NSF
STTR Phase I: 3D Lithography of Thick Photopolymers for Imaging and Photonic Crystal Waveguides
Amount: $149,995 Topic: MI
The Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project will result in the demonstration of an innovative new form of 3D lithography to be used for fabricating imaging arrays and photonic-crystal waveguides in thick photopolymers that are cheaper, higher performance, lighter, more flexible and have capabilities that are not currently possible with current stack and draw manufacturing. Thick photopolymers respond to 3D optical exposure with a self-developing index structure, typically proportional to absorbed energy. Traditional mask-projection lithography cannot address these thick volumes. In this project, the image of the mask is projected perpendicular to the surface of the polymer and translated through an arbitrarily long polymer sample. An unchanging mask will write translational-invariant waveguide arrays or photonic crystal fibers. These photonic crystal fibers do not require large index contrast, matching the properties of photopolymers. Dynamic masks including spatial light modulators or mask rotations extend the capability to complex waveguides with adiabatic variations along their length. The proposed project will evaluate the potential properties of the guided-wave structures, their capabilities for lightweight heads-up displays, and will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed lithography method.The imaging arrays have significant commercial potential as replacements for current endoscopes, fiber faceplates and image converters. The proposed technology is also enabling for new market applications including inexpensive eye monitoring for public safety applications, wearable gaze tracking for human-computer interface for cursor control, market studies, and control of wheel chairs for the handicapped. The technology also has application for military applications for the fabrication of non-intrusive, eyeglass frame embedded heads-up displays.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2007
NSF
Innovative portable human / computer interface system for performance monitoring / prediction and eye movement robotic control
Amount: $69,622 Topic: A04-191
The primary objective of this research is to develop an innovative portable human / computer interface system for performance monitoring / performance prediction based on eye movement. The system will be capable of capturing gaze, pupil, and saccadic movements in each eye individually, simultaneously, at a high frequency, using several fiber optic and holographic technologies. A second primary objective is to detect point of fixation of eyes. The eyes provide both a means by which the soldier may be monitored, and a mechanism by which the soldier may potentially exert control over aspects of his/her environment. Impairments in pupils and eye movements are seen with fatigue and sleepiness, medication use, toxin exposures and have been shown to precede performance failures. The proposed work will build upon significant research done in the past, by University of Colorado in the area of the development of an analogous universal packaging platform for optical integrated circuits (OICs). The proposed research, applied to a broad range of optical systems, could revolutionize the applicability, complexity, size, cost and reliability of optical systems. The end product of this research for A04-191 will be an input / output system that employs infrared probes that are embedded within the prescription (or non-prescription) polymer lenses of user eyeglasses, connected via a small multi-fiber cable thus requiring no external or head mounted devices
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2005
DOD
ARMY