Oscillation Assisted 3D Printing Renders Ultrafast Fabrication of Microlens Array

SUTD: Chao Yuan, Kavin Kowsari, Sahil Panjwani, Zaichun Chen (formerly), Dong Wang, Biao Zhang (formerly), Colin Ju-Xiang Ng, Pablo Valdivia y Alvarado
SUSTech: Qi Ge

With increasing demand for miniaturization of optoelectronics, microlens array has attracted significant attention and become an important micro-optics device widely used in compact imaging, sensing, optical communication and others. Typically, microlens array consists of multiple micron-sized lenses with optical surface smoothness and superior uniformity, which increases the requirement for machining precision.

You can find more details at https://www.sutd.edu.sg/Research/Research-News/2019/10/Oscillation-assisted-3D-printing-renders-ultrafast

Optically smooth microlens array is fabricated by an oscillation assisted 3D printing method. Owing to the mechanical oscillation applied on the projection lens, jagged surface induced by the gaps between discrete pixels is successfully eliminated to render a low surface roughness of 1 nm, which endows the printed microlenses with high resolving power.