Design and fabrication of polymer microlenses arrays for VCSELs using a cantilever based microsystem

Abstract

We report on the design and the fabrication of refractive microlenses using a polymer droplet deposition microsystem. The principle of this original technique consists in monomer droplets deposition using a robotized silicon-microcantilevers array. The advantages of this technique rely on the control of droplets dimensions and the positioning accuracy. Microlenses have been first modelled to optimize their geometrical parameters for VCSEL collimation. Results of lens optimization as well as the influence of the fabrication parameters fluctuations on the final divergence are detailed. First results on droplets deposition are presented, demonstrating the technique feasibility. Finally, the possibility of the modification of the surface energy to obtain the most suited contact angle before deposition is also discussed.