26 September 2023 Hybrid aerosol jet μ-stereolithography additive manufacturing for fabrication of multi-material polymer step-index optics
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

We propose a technique for additive manufacturing of polymer step-index (STIN) optics. The process is composed of aerosol jet multi-material deposition followed by laser-assisted stereolithography in an alternating fashion to fabricate multi-material three-dimensional objects. The layer-wise dynamic tuning of the refractive index provides the possibility to fabricate optics with tailored index profiles. The index range achieved by the presented approach is considerably higher than the common index tuning techniques. Using this technique, a planar multilayer STIN lens is fabricated. The index profile of the fabricated lens has similar progression to the designed profile. In addition, through simulation and also optical characterization, the lensing functionality of the structure is observed.

© 2023 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
Hossein Salmani Rezaei, Moritz Hinkelmann, Jörg Neumann, Dietmar Kracht, and Ludger Overmeyer "Hybrid aerosol jet μ-stereolithography additive manufacturing for fabrication of multi-material polymer step-index optics," Optical Engineering 62(9), 095105 (26 September 2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.62.9.095105
Received: 12 June 2023; Accepted: 6 September 2023; Published: 26 September 2023
Advertisement
Advertisement
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission  Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace
KEYWORDS
Refractive index

Aerosols

Additive manufacturing

Fabrication

Optics manufacturing

Optical simulations

Gradient-index optics

Back to Top