UV-replicated monolithic polymer optics for high-volume imaging and sensing applications

Jacques W. Duparré; Frank C. Wippermann; Nico Hagen

doi:10.1117/12.3023570

1 October 2024 UV-replicated monolithic polymer optics for high-volume imaging and sensing applications

Jacques W. Duparré, Frank C. Wippermann, Nico Hagen

Proceedings Volume 13131, Current Developments in Lens Design and Optical Engineering XXV; 131310C (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3023570
Event: Optical Engineering + Applications, 2024, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We propose a novel manufacturing technology for monolithic polymer optics such as aspherical lenses. UV-replication is well known from wafer level optics. Here supporting glass wafers remain in the final lens. This severely limits the degrees of freedom of the optical design. In addition, material shrinkage, when the polymer is cured, limits reasonable sag heights of the lenses, so that only low-resolution imaging optics are possible. In our UV-replication approach, there is no glass substrate in the individual lenses and the shrinkage is compensated in the process to achieve minimum form error. This enables large sag heights and aspherical lens profiles on both sides of thin menisci as required in high-resolution imaging optics which so far can be realized by injection molding only. Combining this with a high degree of parallelization such as in wafer-level-optics is the key to a large-scale and economical production. We present details of our new technology at the example of realized demo systems for 3D-sensing applications using nano-optical structures, imaging use-cases in endoscopy and those ultimately targeting mobile phone camera modules.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Jacques W. Duparré, Frank C. Wippermann, and Nico Hagen "UV-replicated monolithic polymer optics for high-volume imaging and sensing applications", Proc. SPIE 13131, Current Developments in Lens Design and Optical Engineering XXV, 131310C (1 October 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3023570

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