Eur. Phys. J. AP 8, 29-35 (1999)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap:1999226

Ultraviolet self-generating relief micro-optical elements through crosslinking photopolymerization of liquid resins

¹ Centro de Investigaciones en Optica, Apartado Postal 1-948, Leon Gto. 37000, Mexico
² Département de Photochimie Générale (UMR 7525 du CNRS), ENSCMu, 3 rue A. Werner, 68093 Mulhouse Cedex, France

Corresponding author: c.barghorn@univ-mulhouse.fr

Received: 22 March 1999
Revised: 9 July 1999
Accepted: 22 July 1999
Published online: 15 October 1999

Abstract

The use of a self-processing dry photopolymer layer capable of memorizing optical information as a local change in thickness, is proposed for the fabrication of microlenses, binary holograms and gratings. Relief micro-optical elements are generated by direct imagewise exposure through a mask. A gradient of chemical composition and a gradient of surface free energy cause the transfer of reactive species between dark and illuminated areas. Contrary to conventional lithographic techniques that require wet chemical post-treatment to remove parts of the photoresist material, the fully self-processing character of this technique makes the record available in situ and immediately after exposure.