Hybrid polymer microlens arrays with high numerical apertures fabricated using simple ink-jet printing technique
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Author
Kim, Joo Yeon
Brauer, Nils B.
Fakhfouri, Vahid
Boiko, Dmitri L.
Charbon, Edoardo
Grutzner, Gabi
Brugger, Juergen
DOI
10.1364/OME.1.000259
Abstract
Microlens arrays fabricated by a direct ink-jet printing of UV-curable hybrid polymer are reported. A periodic pattern of polymer drops was ink-jet printed on the surface-treated glass substrate and cured in the UV-light. Using this simple technique, we demonstrated periodic arrays of almost semi-spherical microlenses of 50 µm diameter size and a focal distance of 48µm. The optical characteristics of solitary µ-lenses and arrays comprising up to 64x64 microlenses are measured both in the near- and far-field zones. Large numerical aperture and short focal distance make the ink-jet printing of microlenses very attractive for applications in optical interconnects, large 2D VCSEL arrays and pixelated imagine sensors utilizing CCD or SPAD arrays, offering thus an efficient, simple and a cheap alternative to the conventionally used photolithography technique.
Publication Reference
Optical Materials Express, vol. 1 (2), pp. 259-269
Year
2011-06-01