Micro-optic measurement techniques and instrumentation in the European Network of Excellence for Micro-Optics (NEMO)

Abstract

The measurement and characterization of micro-optical elements, systems and materials related to a variety of aspects like shape, displacement, deformation, strain / stresses, material constants, chemical composition etc. is a huge area which requires extended, multidisciplinary knowledge and a wide range of expensive instrumentation. The NEMO Centre for Measurement and Instrumentation includes twenty four institutes, whose joint expertise and capabilities do not only cover nearly all important measurement and characterization methods; they also comprise a big pool of commercial and internally developed instrumentation. In this paper we present the main tasks of this Centre. These tasks consist in e.g. providing benchmarks of the instrumentation and analysis software, providing an integrated pool of equipment for measurement and characterization of materials and components, identifying the gaps in measurement capabilities of existing equipment and providing guidance for development of new measurement methods and instrumentation, the development of proof-of principle demonstrators of novel measurement systems, and the development of numerical-experimental methods in collaboration with the virtual Centre for Modeling to support the development of novel micro-optics. In this paper we will also review the expertise of the NEMO partners in micro-optics measurement and characterization with the emphasis on aspects such as: microlens array testing, waveguide and fibre optics characterization, measurement of static and active microelements, determination of 3D refractive index distribution, subwavelength structure characterization, and shape monitoring and strain distribution testing in micro-optic packages. Also interesting issues connected with the definition of optimised measurement chains, data analysis and standardization of measurement procedures will be touched upon. Finally we will discuss the future structure of the Centre and its potential to provide virtual or on-site access to an electronic library which already contains a considerable amount of information on the large pool of instrumentation, jointly provided by the NEMO's partners.