Analysis of a micro-optical light modulator

A light modulator with microlens arrays in a confocal arrangement and with various filters in the common focal plane of the arrays, which are translated with the help of piezoelectric actuators, is proposed. The theoretical analysis deals with the influence of the lens arrays on the performance of the modulator. The system is investigated for spatially incoherent beams. It is shown that the configuration is suited for efficient modulation of radiation emitted by multimode fibers. A choice of the proper focal length of the microlens arrays and lens pitch d results in a good transmission efficiency (above 90%) combined with a large number of possible switching states.     

Implementation of field lens arrays in beam-deflecting microlens array telescopes

Laterally displaceable microlens array telescopes allow for variable and fast beam deflection. The generation of spurious light usually leads to a reduction of transfer efficiency with increasing displacement. We present the introduction of an array of field lenses on the back side of a recollimating microlens array that results in a reduced deflection angle dependency of transfer efficiency. A paraxial matrix formalism is used to prove the theoretical elimination of spurious light by use of a field lens array. The fabrication of well-aligned double-sided lens arrays by UV replication is discussed. Measurements of transfer efficiency with and without the use of field lens arrays are compared with the results of numerical wave-optic simulations.     

Index-distributed planar microlenses for three-dimensional micro-optics fabricated by silver-sodium ion exchange in BGG35 substrates

Fabrication of planar microlens arrays by silver-sodium ion exchange is possible by using a new glass type, optimized for this technology. Because of its nonlinear diffusion response it is well suited to the fabrication of microlens arrays. We show that the diffusion coefficient can be described theoretically by an exponential concentration dependence. The parameters of the planar microlenses are measured interferometrically and by imaging experiments. Because of the specific index distribution, new evaluation techniques for the determination of lens parameters from interferometric measurements have been applied. We also present a simple model that relates the achievable lens parameters to the diffusion conditions.     

Investigation of statistical variations between lenslets of microlens arrays

We investigate the behavior of microlens arrays consisting of lenslets that have statistically distributed parameters (focal length, offset phase, lens center). In theoretical investigations we introduce a lens-array coherence parameter kappa, which describes the statistical variations of the lenslets. In experiments we measured this parameter for concrete lens arrays.     

微透镜填充因子快速检测方法

本文提出了一种有效的微透镜阵列填充因子快速检测方法.文章从光的标量衍射理论出发,分析了连续浮雕微透镜阵列的衍射光斑分布与透镜子口径、透镜矢高之间的关系,推导出了微透镜阵列远场衍射光斑的理论模型,用该模型对不同填充因子的微透镜阵列为例进行计算机模拟分析,并且搭建了实验装置来获得实际的衍射光斑.结果表明,模拟光强分布与实际衍射光斑相当接近,在此基础上给出了微透镜衍射光斑分布与填充因子之间的半定量关系,为微透镜阵列的快速检测提供了一种有效手段.这种方法可以实现微透镜阵列的准确、简单、低成本的填充因子检测,极大地提高了生产效率,满足了实际测试的要求.     

大数值孔径微透镜阵列激光扫描

提出微透镜阵列与转镜相结合的大口径激光光束扫描方法。采用机械制模法制作微透镜阵列模板 ,然后采用模压法制作光学微透镜阵列 ,其子口径为 2 mm× 2 mm,数值孔径为 0 .2 ,阵列数为 8× 8。并进行了扫描测试实验 ,扫描角达± 6.56°。     

Integrated acoustooptic circuits and applications

The recent development of titanium-indiffusion proton-exchange (TIPE) microlenses and lens arrays has made possible the construction of a variety of single- and multichannel integrated acoustooptic (AO) and acoustooptic-electrooptic (EO) circuits in LiNbO(3) channel-planar waveguides 0.1x1.0x2.0 cm(3) in size. These hybrid AO and AO-EO circuits can be fabricated through compatible and well-established technologies. The most recent realization of ion-milled microlenses and lens arrays together with the recent development of gigahertz AO Bragg modulators and EO Bragg modulator arrays have also paved the way for construction of similar but monolithic AO and AO-EO GaAs/GaAlAs waveguides of comparable size. Both types of integrated AO and AO-EO circuits suggest versatile applications in communications signal processing, and computing. Efficient and simultaneous excitation of the channel waveguide array using an ion-milled planar microlens array has facilitated the demonstration of some of these applications.     

衍射微透镜列阵掩模制作软件的设计

研究了衍射微透镜列阵的设计方法及ＣＩＦ格式掩模数据的数据结构与生成方法,设计了一套产用软件,采用图形切割、跟踪计算等方法,解决了生成子孔径为矩形、六 方形及圆环扇形的衍射微透镜列阵掩模的问题,满足了实际系统对衍射微透镜列阵子孔径形状的各种需求。     

Cover Picture: Fabricating Microlens Arrays by Surface Wrinkling (Adv. Mater. 24/2006)

The unique lateral confinement of a swelling polymer network leads to surface wrinkles that define a multitude of surface structures, including microlens arrays (background). The versatility of this approach, which is reported on p. 3238 by Crosby and Chan, allows for the realization of a variety of functional devices on both planar and nonplanar surfaces, such as synthetic compound lens structures (see inset).     

Replication of Microlens Arrays by Gas-Assisted Hot Embossing

This article reports an effective method for mass-production of 300 × 300 microlens arrays. A microlens array master is formed by imprint lithography and photo-resist reflow at room temperature. The electroforming is then applied to fabricating the Ni mold from the master, followed by the gas-assisted hot embossing to replicate the microlens arrays. The isotropic gas pressure on the plastic film against the Ni mold produces plastic microlens array of high quality and uniformity. The effects of processing parameters including the processing temperature, pressure, and time on the replication quality of microlens arrays were investigated. The experimental results show that the filling of molded microlens significantly increases as the processing temperature and pressure increase. Under the condition of 180°C, 3.9 MPa for gas pressure, and 90 seconds processing time, the arrays of polycarbonate microlens of diameter 150 µm and pitch 200 µm have been successfully replicated. The deviation of replicated microlens from the mold is less than 0.25%. Compared with the conventional hot embossing process, the new replication method offers more uniform embossing pressure distribution. The great potential for replicating microlens array on large plastic films with high productivity and low cost was demonstrated.     

Tunable microfluidic microlenses

A novel type of liquid microlens, bounded by a microfabricated, distensible membrane and activated by a microfluidic liquid-handling system, is presented. By use of an elastomer membrane fabricated by spin coating onto a dry-etched silicon substrate, the liquid-filled cavity acts as a lens whereby applied pressure changes the membrane distension and thus the focal length. Both plano-convex and plano-concave lenses, individual elements as well as arrays, were fabricated and tested. The lens surface roughness was seen to be approximately 9 nm rms, and the focal length could be tuned from 1 to 18 mm. This lens represents a robust, self-contained tunable optical structure suitable for use in, for example, a medical environment.     

Extensible, Low-Chromatic-Sensitivity, All-diffractive-Optics Relay for Interconnecting Optoelectronic Device Arrays

For free-space optical interconnections between optoelectronic chips to reach commercial realization, the technology must provide high-density optical channels in a simple, inexpensive, and easily aligned package. Although point-to-point connections with microlens pairs can provide densities of several thousand channels per square centimeter, the Gaussian nature of the beams limits the connection range to a few millimeters. We propose an arrangement of microlens pairs with an intermediate relay lens that significantly increases the connection distance. This basic setup can be tiled laterally across large chips to form extensible arrays. The optical design is constructed entirely with diffractive elements because of the low chromatic sensitivity over a range of approximately ?10% around the design wavelength. We derive the lateral positioning error at the image by using a simple ray trace, and we show the effect of Gaussian beams. We experimentally demonstrate the low chromatic sensitivity for a system with an interconnection distance of 64 mm. Finally, we demonstrate the interconnection of two linear arrays of multimode fibers with two adjacent channels operating at data rates of hundreds of megabits per second.     

Analysis of a cylindrical microlens array with long focal depth by a rigorous boundary-element method and scalar approximations

We investigated the focal characteristics of open-regional cylindrical microlens arrays with long focal depth by using a rigorous boundary-element method (BEM) and three scalar methods, i.e., a Kirchhoff and two Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction integral forms. Numerical analysis clearly shows that the model cylindrical microlens arrays with different f-numbers can generate focusing beams with both long focal depth and high transverse resolution. The performance of the cylindrical microlens arrays, such as extended focal depth, relative extended focal depth, diffraction efficiency, and focal spot size, is appraised and analyzed. From a comparison of the results obtained by the rigorous BEM and by scalar approximations, we found that the results are quite similar when the f-number equals f/1.6; however, they are quite different for f/0.8. We conclude that the BEM should be adopted to analyze the performance of a microlens array system whose f-number is less than f/1.0.     

Design and fabrication of polymeric micro-optical components using excimer laser ablation

Abstract

Numerical simulation was used to predict the profile of a three-dimensional aspherical microlens and a microprism array. Based on the simulated results, the desired micro-optical lens profile was obtained using excimer laser ablated polyimide. The simulation method applied to excimer laser ablation can significantly reduce the quantity of microablation experiments. Ablated microstructures with surface roughness R _a < 20 nm were successfully achieved for micro-optical components. The excimer laser ablation parameters included laser fluence, shot number, workstation velocity, and repetition rate. Numerical simulation can be applied to predict various profiles of microlens and microprism arrays with different dimensions, the desired geometries being formed by laser ablation.     

Micro/nanosized refractive lens arrays formed by means of conformal thin film deposition

We provide a 'growing' method for fabricating a microlens array with lateral size of a few microns or less. Instead of using complicated etching techniques, the method forms a spherical profile of the lens using conformal chemical vapor deposition. We have fabricated two lens arrays. One has a pitch of 1200?nm, a circular aperture 1000?nm in diameter and a sag height of 130?nm. The other array has a pitch of 600?nm, and a square aperture of 600?nm × 600?nm, with a fill factor close to 100%. The maximum profile deviation between the fabricated lens and an ideal sphere is about 11% and 14% respectively. The calculation indicates that the curvature difference of the profile of the square lens in the orthogonal and diagonal direction is 5.5%. The roughness of the lens is measured as approximately 6?nm.     

Efficient implementation of a spatial light modulator as a diffractive optical microlens array in a digital Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor

A traditional Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWS) uses a physical microlens array to sample the incoming wavefront into a number of segments and to measure the phase profile over the cross section of a given light beam. We customized a digital SHWS by encoding a spatial light modulator (SLM) with a diffractive optical lens (DOL) pattern to function as a diffractive optical microlens array. This SHWS can offer great flexibility for various applications. Through fast-Fourier-transform (FFT) analysis and experimental investigation, we studied three sampling methods to generate the digitized DOL pattern, and we compared the results. By analyzing the diffraction efficiency of the DOL and the microstructure of the SLM, we proposed three important strategies for the proper implementation of DOLs and DOL arrays with a SLM. Experiments demonstrated that these design rules were necessary and sufficient for generating an efficient DOL and DOL array with a SLM.     

Arrays of anamorphic phase-matched Fresnel elements for diode-to-fiber coupling

A method for designing microlens arrays that inherently takes into account application requirements and fabrication constraints is presented. Elements with numerical apertures of up to 0.5 have been designed and fabricated by laser beam writing in photoresist and replication in plastic material. In a laser-diode-to-fiber array coupling experiment, an overall optical throughput of 60% was achieved. By means of anamorphic microlens arrays, correction of the laser-diode longitudinal astigmatism and circularization of the image-plane irradiance distribution are demonstrated.     

Electrowetting-driven variable-focus microlens on flexible surfaces

We demonstrate a flexible, electrowetting-driven, variable-focus liquid microlens. The microlens is fabricated using a soft polymer polydimethylsiloxane. The lens can be smoothly wrapped onto a curved surface. A low-temperature fabrication process was developed to reduce the stress on and to avoid any damage to the polymer. The focal length of the microlens varies between -15.0?mm to +28.0?mm, depending on the applied voltage. The resolving power of the microlens is 25.39 line pairs per mm using a 1951 United States Air Force resolution chart. The typical response time of the lens is around 50?ms.     

Optimization and theoretical modeling of polymer microlens arrays fabricated with the hydrophobic effect

High-performance polymer microlens arrays were fabricated by means of withdrawing substrates of patterned wettability from a monomer solution. The f-number (f(#)) of formed microlenses was controlled by adjustment of monomer viscosity and surface tension, substrate dipping angle and withdrawal speed, the array fill factor, and the number of dip coats used. An optimum withdrawal speed was identified at which f(#) was minimized and array uniformity was maximized. At this optimum, arrays of f/3.48 microlenses were fabricated with one dip coat with uniformity of better than Deltaf/f +/- 3.8%. Multiple dip coats allowed for production of f/1.38 lens arrays and uniformity of better than Deltaf/f +/-5.9%. Average f(#)s were reproducible to within 3.5%. A model was developed to describe the fluid-transfer process by which monomer solution assembles on the hydrophilic domains. The model agrees well with experimental trends.     

Highly corrected close-packed microlens arrays and moth-eye structuring on curved surfaces

The fabrication of near-micrometer-sized close-packed coherent microlens arrays on spheric or aspheric surfaces has been accomplished by use of a compact holographic projector system that was developed for producing multimicrometer down to submicrometer grid patterning on curved surfaces. The microlens arrays, which can be utilized as moth-eye relief structures, are formed in a photoimageable bisbenzocyclobutene polymeric resin by a photolytic process involving standing-wave interference patterns from the holographic projector system. Because of absorption, each integral microlenslet of the finished arrays possesses a near-paraboloid contour. The trajectories of the meridional rays from each microlenslet can be optimized to intersect at either a single point or a locus of points.