Ultraprecision micromilling of freeform optical elements for planar microoptical systems integration

Sebastian Stoebenau; Martin Amberg; Stefan Sinzinger

doi:10.1117/12.780310

14 May 2008 Ultraprecision micromilling of freeform optical elements for planar microoptical systems integration

Sebastian Stoebenau, Martin Amberg, Stefan Sinzinger

Proceedings Volume 6992, Micro-Optics 2008; 699207 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.780310
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2008, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

Planar microoptical systems integration is a powerful approach for the fabrication of optical systems and has been demonstrated for a large variety of applications. The folded optical axis in combination with planar fabrication technologies enables highly integrated and rugged optical systems. In this geometry, however, specific care is necessary to avoid aberrations resulting from the oblique optical axis. A purely diffractive implementation of these systems generally leads to an efficiency of only a few percent. Combining classical refractive optics with diffractive correction elements increases the overall efficiency. However, the purely refractive implementation suffered from the lack of fabrication technologies for freeform microoptical elements. We present the results of the first fabrication of freeform refractive correction elements combined with standard off-the-shelf refractive microlenses to form a completely refractive planar integrated optical system using ultraprecision micromilling. Experiments confirm the increased optical performance of the systems by integrating two micromachined reflective correction elements. Both elements have a size of 2.4 x 2.4 mm² with a peak-to-valley surface profile depth of 2.6 μm. They are fabricated with an average roughness height < 40 nm and a surface tolerance < 400 nm.

Citation Download Citation

Sebastian Stoebenau, Martin Amberg, and Stefan Sinzinger "Ultraprecision micromilling of freeform optical elements for planar microoptical systems integration", Proc. SPIE 6992, Micro-Optics 2008, 699207 (14 May 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.780310

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