Stitching-free 3D printing of millimeter-sized highly transparent spherical and aspherical optical components

Simon Ristok; Simon Thiele; Andrea Toulouse; Alois M. Herkommer; Harald Giessen

doi:10.1117/12.2577596

5 March 2021 Stitching-free 3D printing of millimeter-sized highly transparent spherical and aspherical optical components

Simon Ristok, Simon Thiele, Andrea Toulouse, Alois M. Herkommer, Harald Giessen

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11677, Laser 3D Manufacturing VIII; 1167710 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2577596
Event: SPIE LASE, 2021, Online Only

Abstract

We demonstrate the fabrication of optical elements on the millimeter scale by stitching-free 3D printing via two-photon polymerization. Previous limitations are overcome by the use of a large writing field objective as well as a novel high transparency resist. The printed optical components are free of stitching defects due to a single step exposure and exhibit an unpreceded glass-like appearance due to the low absorption of the resist material throughout the entire visible wavelength range. We print aspherical focusing lenses, characterize and optimize their shape fidelity, and find their optical performance close to the simulated optimum, demonstrating the superior performance of our fabrication. For comparison with commercially available glass lenses we also fabricate spherical half-ball lenses of different sizes. The imaging quality of the lenses is very similar, underpinning the powerfulness of our fabrication strategy.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Simon Ristok, Simon Thiele, Andrea Toulouse, Alois M. Herkommer, and Harald Giessen "Stitching-free 3D printing of millimeter-sized highly transparent spherical and aspherical optical components", Proc. SPIE 11677, Laser 3D Manufacturing VIII, 1167710 (5 March 2021); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2577596

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