Inkjet printing of microlenses: A study on post-processing parameters

Microlenses printed by inkjet have been studied since at least two decades but are not yet implemented at the industrial scale. A lack of trust in the process accuracy is most probably the main break of microlens printing industrialization. However, inkjet process suits perfectly for microlens manufacturing. Low costs, easy implementation and versatility are the main advantages of the process. This paper tends to reduce the gap between research and industry as well as to grow the knowledge on microlens printing and functional ink for optical applications. A design of experiment as well as a model for microlens printing has been established. The study showed that it is possible to predict the exact height printed depending on drying time, drying temperature and UV curing.