Direct laser writing method for micro-lens fabrication on the fiber facet

Abstract

We present a way for micro-lens and micro-lens array fabrication on the fiber facet by direct laser writing (DLW) method. The proposed setup for DLW printing on the fiber facet can protect objective lens and makes it possible to safely using a wide range of resists. Microlens fabricated on the single-mode optical fiber facet is demonstrated. Based on lens-on-fiber system we proposed concept of the micro-lenses on baseplate array printed on the multi-core fiber, where each lens is rigidly aligned with the core. One of the possible micro-lenses on the baseplate array is presented and its optical properties such as focal spot size and resolution are investigated. The possible application of the proposed micro-lens array is complex optical elements, such as micro-objectives with optimized optical design. Moreover, suggested freeform lens array can find application in high-accuracy wavefront sensing.