Fabrication Of Micro Optical Elements With Spherical And Aspherical Surfaces

Abstract

It is well known, that employment of mechanical treatment to manufacture the micro optical elements (diameter ≤2mm) with spherical surfaces of small radius or aspherical surfaces is connected with considerable difficulties and is very expensive. One of the effective methods of solving this problem is precise pressing (or molding) of glass blanks, Blanks placed between the male and female molds were heated and pressed 1,2. Molded micro elements do not demand mechanical treatment. But in this case, practically, a very complicated problem is substituted for only slightly complicated one. It means that considerable efforts are made to prepare male and female mold surfaces. They are precise mechanical treatment, the coating of surfaces by high temperature resistant multi layer coats and so on. At the beginning of our study the main question under investigation was: "Can we develop the technique that allows to produce micro optical elements with spherical and aspherical surfaces without or with simplest mechanical treatment of both the glass blanks and the molds?” In this talk two techniques of fabrication curvilinear surfaces of micro optical elements without mechanical treatment have been considered.