High numerical aperture microlens arrays of close packing

Abstract

Closed-packed high numerical aperture (NA) microlens arrays (MLA) are highly desirable for high resolution imaging and high signal-to-noise-ratio detection in micro-optical and integrated optical applications. However, realization of such devices remains technically challenging. Here, we report high quality fabrication of curved surfaces and MLAs by taking the full advantage of surface self-smoothing effect by creating highly reproducible voxels and by adopting an equal-arc scanning strategy. MLA of approximately 100% fill ratio and NA of 0.46, much greater than those ever reported, 0.13, is demonstrated, whose excellent optical performance was approved by the sharp focusing and high resolution imaging.

Parallel direct laser writing of micro-optical and photonic structures using spatial light modulator

“…This technique is particularly appealing for the fabrication of micro-optical and photonic devices [2][3][4][5][6] complying its several properties, such as (a) the resolution of polymerized voxels can be beyond the diffraction limit down to sub-100 nm due to the nonlinear nature of 2PP [7], (b) the surface roughness of microstructures fabricated by 2PP can be less than 2.5 nm [8], and (c) arbitrary shaped 3D microstructures can be fabricated by precisely overlapped voxels [9].…”

Femtosecond laser internal manufacturing of three-dimensional microstructure devices

“…Cojoca et al [80] demonstrated that various microstructures with good optical properties can be fabricated on the top of optical fibers, providing a competitive mean for on-fiber fabrication. Apart from these, there are still some other approaches for microoptical devices fabrication in photopolymerizable resins by TPP method, which further illustrate the practicability and flexibility for TPP fabrication [54,[81][82][83].…”

Nanomanufacturing—Perspective and applications

“…Therefore, it is significant in the applications of delicate nanoprototyping in microelectronics, micromechanics, microoptics, and microfluidics [129,193,212,219]. Typically, the major problem that restricts the spatial resolution of a metal micro-nanostructure fabricated via FsLDW is the uncontrollable growth and aggregation of metal nanoparticles during the photonreduction process, as shown in Fig.…”