INVITED: New Developments in Optical Coatings for Eyewear - with a Focus on Health Benefits

 In the last eight years, our research fields have widely evolved from their traditional focus on the correction of vision defects.  Indeed, many studies have evidenced the importance of prevention to preserve the “visual capital” of wearers. Vision health now occupies the very heart of our new investigations and innovations.  This presentation will address different topics on protection from hazards of ultraviolet and blue light radiations by the use of optical coatings.

Although our lenses are UV absorbing, it has been shown that UV radiation can impact the eye from the side by reflection on the back surface of the lens. Ray tracing calculations enabled definition of the relevant angular range involved in side reflection. Based on these results, new antireflective coatings, highly efficient in the UV range, have been developed.  Additionally, recent and unique research at the crossroads of physics and cell biology has shown the effect of blue-violet light radiation on the retina and its probable contribution to eye diseases. To address this need, new solutions integrating blue-violet light protection (by rejection and/or absorption) have been designed and proposed.