Production Of Optical Elements Research Articles

Optical elements from 3D printed polymers

Abstract 3D printing belongs to the emerging technologies of our time. Describing diverse specific techniques, 3D printing enables rapid production of individual objects and creating shapes that would not be produced with other techniques. One of the drawbacks of typical 3D printing processes, however, is the layered structure of the created parts. This is especially problematic in the production of optical elements, which in most cases necessitate highly even surfaces. To meet this challenge, advanced 3D printing techniques as well as other sophisticated solutions can be applied. Here, we give an overview of 3D printed optical elements, such as lenses, mirrors, and waveguides, with a focus on freeform optics and other elements for which 3D printing is especially well suited.

The Formation of Broadband Color Centers in PMMA by Femtosecond Laser Radiation

At present, organic materials modified by the laser irradiation are frequently used for the development and production of optical elements. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is one of the polymer materials which are most widely used in optics and optoelectronics. A broad transparency window and the ease of industrial processing are the main advantages of PMMA. Laser modification of PMMA allows creating color centers with radiation in a wide spectral range.

Preparation and roughness metrology of supersmooth optical surfaces

The main problems of measuring the roughness of supersmooth surfaces for X-ray optics and an approach developed by us for the metrology and production of optical elements with diffraction-quality reflective surfaces are discussed. Up-to-date data on the roughness obtained upon the polishing of fused quartz are presented.

An Experimental Study on Flow Characteristics of PBK-40 for Glass Molding Press Simulation

Remarkable progress had been made in both technology and production of optical elements including aspheric lens. Especially, requirements for machining glass materials have been increasing in terms of limitation on using environment, flexibility of material selection and surface accuracy. In the past, precision optical glass lenses were produced through multiple processes such as grinding and polishing, but mass production of aspheric lenses requiring high accuracy and having complex profile was rather difficult. Against such a background, the high-precision optical GMP process was developed with an eye on mass production of precision optical glass pasts by molding press. This GMP process can produce with precision and good repeatability special form lenses such as for cameras, video cameras, aspheric lenses for laser pickup, f-θ lens for laser printer and prism, and fine glass parts including diffraction grating and V-grooved base. Generally, GMP process can be classified into batch and progressive type. In these types, because progressive type has many merits in that productivity is higher and repair/retouch of mold is easier than batch type, progressive GMP process is mainly used to produce aspheric glass lenses these days. In this paper, as a fundamental study to develop the multi-cavity mold for higher productivity of progressive GMP process used in fabrication of aspheric glass lens, compression tests for K-PBK40, which is the material of aspheric glass lens, were conducted at high temperature. As a result, flow characteristics of K-PBK40 were obtained for aspheric glass lens press simulation.

Refractive elements produced in photopolymer layers

Many new high-tech consumer products that are now under development require micro-optical elements. The development of these micro-optical devices has been carried out by many different researchers working in a variety of areas. This has lead to a large number of different fabrication techniques. We examine a novel fabrication technique that may allow the development of large arrays of elements quickly and cheaply. It is known that the exposure of dye sensitised Acrylamide layers to light can lead to material refractive index and volume changes. It is therefore proposed that a patterned exposure can be used to form a mixture of volume and surface relief patterning, enabling the production of optical elements. The examination of this fabrication technique, in particular the study of the processes that result in this volume change, may also lead to improvements in the photopolymer material so as to control shrinkage of these materials. The development of low shrinkage holographic recording materials is an active area in holography as most current photopolymer materials exhibit some volume change during the recording process. This has implications for the fidelity of the replayed image. This is of crucial importance in areas such as data storage systems. The further study of this process also has implications for the wider holographic research community. It is important to understand the surface relief profile of the holographic element prior to extracting grating parameters as surface relief effects may influence the experimental data. In this paper we describe initial experimental attempts to produce micro-optical elements for use in the visible spectrum using patterned exposure of an Acrylamide based photopolymer material.

The Aspect Ratio of Potassium Dideuterium Phosphate (DKDP) Crystals

Large crystals of potassium dideuterium phosphate (DKDP) are used for third harmonic generation in powerful lasers. To allow the optimal production of optical elements with a shape required by these applications, the aspect ratio, i.e., the ratio of a crystal's dimensions along the crystallographic axes, needs to be controlled. To highlight the factors that determine the aspect ratio, we have monitored the normal growth rate, local slope, and step velocity for both the prismatic {100} and the pyramidal {101} faces of DKDP crystals growing in solutions with saturation temperatures ranging from 52 to 70 °C over a range of supersaturation from 0 to 0.06 in the presence and absence of 1 ppm aluminum ions. We employ optical two-beam interferometry with the growing crystal face as one of the mirrors to determine the above three kinetic variables with a frequency of 1 s-1. We find that in the probed temperature range, Al3+ ions are not effective in retarding the growth of the {100} faces to bias growth in the Z ...

Ion-beam etching technology in the production of optical elements

Get PDF Email Share Share with Facebook Tweet This Post on reddit Share with LinkedIn Add to CiteULike Add to Mendeley Add to BibSonomy Get Citation Copy Citation Text V. Yu. Guzhov, "Ion-beam etching technology in the production of optical elements," J. Opt. Technol. 69, 685- (2002) Export Citation BibTex Endnote (RIS) HTML Plain Text Citation alert Save article

Technological Specifics of Production of Optical Elements for Mini-Kinescopes

An automated line is developed for the production of optical elements (screens, cones) for kinescopes. New molding equipment is designed, and technological parameters for the production of screens and cones 12 cm in the diagonal are developed.