Lorne Whitehead, Professor

B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., UBC (77,79,89), P. Eng.
CEO, TIR Systems Ltd. (83--93).

Research Interests

My research centers on applying novel geometrical configurations to applied physics problems. The primary focus is in structured surface physics -- the study of interfaces containing precision structures on a size scale of 0.1 to 100 microns. The advent of sophisticated polymeric micro-replication and thin film deposition technology have had two key impacts on this field. First, it is possible to study of wide range of new structures. Second, it is practical to mass-produce such structures, which opens up a new range of industrial opportunities.

An example is the prism light guide, which is a structure employing precise geometrical prismatic facets on a transparent hollow pipe, to enable the guiding of light by means of total internal reflection. The primary application of that device has been the large scale guiding of light for illumination purposes. We are currently developing a cost-effective solution to use hollow light guides to illuminate core regions of office buildings with daylight.

A different example is the CLEAR display, in which a microstructured surface very efficiently reflects ambient light by total internal reflection, and the reflection can be easily and efficiently modulated to form an image on the display by moving an absorbing material into contact with the microstructures. The result is a high brightness, low power display that has the appearance of ink printed on paper.

My research also involves the study of high dynamic range display systems, and my work in this area led to a new a new display technology developed by UBC spin-off company, Brightside Technologies.  The company was acquired in 2007 by Dolby Laboratories and became Dolby Canada.

Most recently, we developed a technology for bringing sunlight deep into buildings for illumination, in order to reduce the need for electric lighting and improve the overall lighting quality.  This technology is now under development by UBC spin-off SunCentral Inc. 

My research program is funded under the collaborative chair program of NSERC and is a combination of funds from NSERC and from the 3M Company, a respected leader in the field of manufacturing microstructured polymeric surfaces.

Structured Surface Physics Home Page

Selected Publications

· L. Whitehead M. and Mossman, “A Monte Carlo method for assessing color rendering quality with possible application to color rendering standards,Color Research and Application (in print).

• L. Whitehead and J. Huizinga, “Electrostatically-controlled diffraction gratings using ionic electrophoresis”, United States Patent No. 7,576,905, issued Aug. 18, 2009.
• R. Wong, P. Hrudey and L. Whitehead, “Electrochemical threshold conditions during electro-optical switching of ionic electrophoretic optical devices”, Applied Optics 48(6), 1062-1072, 2009.
• L. Whitehead, R. Whitehead, B. Valeur and M. Berberan-Santos, “A simple widely applicable function for the description of near-exponential decays: the stretched or compressed hyperbola”, American Journal of Physics 77(2), 173-179, Feb 2009.
• L. Whitehead and M. Mossman, “Reflections on Total Internal Reflection”, Optics and Photonics News, Feb 2009 (invited contribution).
• L. Whitehead, G. Ward, W. Stuerzlinger  and H. Seetzen, “High Dynamic Range Display Devices“, United States Patent No. 7,106,505, issued Sep. 12, 2006.
• M. Mossman and L. Whitehead, “Controlled frustration of TIR by electrophoresis of pigment particles”, Appl. Opt. 44(9), Mar 2005.
• A. Marziali, J. Pel, D. Bizzotto and L. Whitehead, “Novel electrophoresis mechanism based on synchronous alternating drag perturbation”, Electrophoresis 26(1), 2005.
• M. Mossman and L. Whitehead, “A novel reflective image display using total internal reflection”, J. Displays 25(5), Nov 2004.
• M. Mossman and L. Whitehead, “Wide viewing angle reflective display”, International Display Research Conference 2003.
• L. Whitehead, E.J. Lee and A. Kotlicki, “New Efficient Tubular Daylighting System for Multi-Floor Buildings”, CIE Quadrennial Conference, July 2003.
• H. Seetzen, L. Whitehead, and G. Ward, “A High Dynamic Range Display Using Low and High Resolution Modulators”, Society for Information Display Symposium, May 2003.
• A. Clark, L. Whitehead and C. Haynes, “Novel Resonant Frequency Sensor to Detect the Kinetics of Protein Adsorption”, Rev. Sci. Instr., 73(12), Dec 2002.
• L. Whitehead, “Enhanced Effective Refractive Index Total Internal Reflection Image Display”, U.S.A. Patent No. 6,304, 365, issued Oct 16 2001.
• L. Whitehead, M. Mossman and A. Kotlicki, “Visual Applications of Total Internal Reflection In Prismatic Microstructures” Physics in Canada, December 2001.
• L. Whitehead, “Passive High Efficiency Variable Reflectivity Image Display Device”, U.S.A. Patent No. 5,959,777, issued Oct. 6, 1999.
• C. Samuelson, I. Ashdown, P. Kan, A. Kotlicki and L. Whitehead, “A Lighting Quality Metric Based on Fourier Analysis”, Proceedings of the 1999 Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, 1999.
• L. Whitehead and A. Clark, “Variable Spacing Diffraction Grating Employing Elastomeric Surface Waves”, Applied Optics, Vol37, No.22, 5063-5069, Aug 1998.
• L. Whitehead, “Superconducting Alternating Winding Capacitor Electromagnetic Resonator”, US Patent No. 4,981,838, issued Jan. 1, 1991.
• L. Whitehead, “Elastomer Membrane Enhanced Electrostatic Transducer”, US Patent No. 4,885,783, issued Dec. 5, 1989.
• L. Whitehead, "Light Guides For Illumination of LCD Displays", Society for Information Display, May 1992 proceedings, Boston MA.
• P. Chong, C. Commandeur, H. Davis and L. Whitehead, "Large Gap Magnetic Positioning System Having Advantageous Configuration", International Symposium on Magnetic Suspension Technology, Aug. 19 -- 23, 1991.
• W. Shuter and L. Whitehead, "A Wide Sky Coverage Ferrofluid Mercury Telescope", Astrophysical Journal Letters, 424, L139-L141, 1994.
• S. Saxe, L. Whitehead and S. Cobb, "Materials and Optics for Solar Energy Conversion and Advanced Lighting Technology", SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 692, pp. 235—240, 1986.
• L. Whitehead, "Simplified Ray Tracing in Cylindrical Systems", Applied Optics, Vol. 21, No. 19, Oct. 1, 1982.