Optical MEMS and polymers: an overview (Invited Paper)

Abstract

Polymer materials offer unique properties for fabrication of micro-optical systems. The ability to engineer the optical and mechanical properties of polymers, the low cost of polymers, and the wide choice of fabrication methods make polymers particularly attractive for low cost, and potential mass production of micro-optical elements and integrated micro-optical systems. An overview of the current state of the art in polymer micro-optic fabrication technology and applications to optical MEMS is presented.