We describe a method to microfabricate a light emitting diode array with pixels based on conjugated electroluminescent polymers sandwiched between appropriate electrodes. This method, based on direct photoablation with the 193 nm emission of an excimer laser, maintains the properties of these unique polymers. The technique as described here has already achieved an array of 20 μm×20 μm pixels with enhanced electroluminescence (EL) from these pixels and possible spectral tuning of the EL by the application of varying external field. This method can be extended to achieve nanometer dimensionalities using near-field nanolithography.

A new method for eliminating the chromatic aberration of a diffractive optical element (DOE) for wideband wavelengths is presented. The wideband-wavelength diffractive optical element (WBDOE) consists of two aligned DOE's. The use of different dispersive materials for the two DOE's eliminates chromatic aberration. The design and simulation of a WBDOE for the visible spectrum are presented.

The assessment of oxygen saturation in arterial blood by pulse oximetry (SpO2) is based on the different light absorption spectra for oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin and the analysis of photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals acquired at two wavelengths. Commercial pulse oximeters use two wavelengths in the red and infrared regions which have different pathlengths and the relationship between the PPG-derived parameters and oxygen saturation in arterial blood is determined by means of an empirical calibration. This calibration results in an inherent error, and pulse oximetry thus has an error of about 4%, which is too high for some clinical problems. We present calibration-free pulse oximetry for measurement of SpO2, based on PPG pulses of two nearby wavelengths in the infrared. By neglecting the difference between the path-lengths of the two nearby wavelengths, SpO2 can be derived from the PPG parameters with no need for calibration. In the current study we used three laser diodes of wavelengths 780, 785 and 808 nm, with narrow spectral line-width. SaO2 was calculated by using each pair of PPG signals selected from the three wavelengths. In measurements on healthy subjects, SpO2 values, obtained by the 780–808 nm wavelength pair were found to be in the normal range. The measurement of SpO2 by two nearby wavelengths in the infrared with narrow line-width enables the assessment of SpO2 without calibration.

A method for producing diffractive optical elements (DOE's) for multiple wavelengths without chromatic aberration is described. These DOE's can be designed for any distinct wavelength. The DOE's are produced from two different optical materials, taking advantage of their different refractive indices and dispersions.