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1999
Conference Paper
Titel
High-precision micro-optic elements by wafer-scale replication on arbitrary substrates
Abstract
A solution is described for replication of polymer microoptical elements on arbitrary substrates. The replication is done on wafer scale level and includes the adjustment step between the optical elements and the substrate. Demonstrators are various microlens arrays, structures for the efficient coupling between monomode waveguides or multimode fibers and photodiodes, and between multimode waveguides and LED's. Out of the many different replication techniques, UV-reaction molding is chosen for this application. This technique has advantages against hot embossing and injection molding. Network polymers which are stable against temperature changes can be used. The replication is made in thin layers on a solid substrate resulting in high mechanical stability and very good flatness of the samples. The process introduces mechanical stress nor thermal load on the substrate which can be a fully processed semiconductor wafer containing elements like diodes or LEDs.