Highly Transmissive Infrared Polymer Micro Optical Lenses and Arrays

Polymeric microscale lenses, which are highly transmissive for infrared wavelengths, can be fabricated using photolithography. Arrays of lenses may be mass produced and incorporated into optical-electronic systems. 

Background:
Conventionally, lenses for use in infrared imaging have been made from inorganic materials due to their superior optical properties at infrared wavelengths. Material cost and fabrication challenges have limited use of inorganic IR materials in optical systems or as components in integrated electronic systems.  To tackle this problem, hybrid inorganic/organic polymers have been developed that make infrared lenses cheaper and easier to produce, while possessing similar optical quality to their inorganic counterparts.

Applications:

• Infrared transmission
• Sensing or imaging for electronics
• Defense and surveillance
• Automotive imaging systems

Advantages:

• High refractive index
• Excellent infrared transparency
• Microscale for integrated optical-electronic systems
• Photo-patterned construction for flexible design
• Array of lenses can be fabricated
• Inexpensive