Development and application of a computer-supported method for design optimization of micro-optical systems

Manufacturing test structures of microsystems is a very expensive process, both in terms of time and money. For this reason, computer—supported design technologies ensuring continuous support in all design phases and, consequently, also consistency, are becoming increasingly important in microsystems technology. The modular structure of hybrid systems requires single components to be manufactured in isolation and later combined into one total system. Combining single components into one overall system is bound to be subject to certain tolerances. The concept presented in this paper is the computer—aided design of a modular system rugged enough to be employed in mass fabrication. In mass fabrication, it is not the ideal arrangement of individual components which results in the most effective system. Instead, tolerances in positioning individual optical elements need to be taken into account already in modeling. Furthermore environmental influences like e.g. variations of the temperature can have an impact on the performance of the micro—optical function module.