Multimode Lightwave Components with 2-D Arrayed Planar Microlens

There has been a problem on the mass-productivity of lightwave components, since very precise optical alignment and coupling are required. In order to overcome this problem, we proposed stacked planar optics1 where lightwave circuits are integrated with 2-D arrayed configuration by stacking 2-D array of optical devices and planar microlenses2. In this paper we describe, first, a newly developed 2-D array of planar microlens with reasonable size and N.A. applicable to wide variety of lightwave technical fields, and second, present some measured optical characteristic and finally demonstrate a branching component by the use of a microlens array.