Optical microstructure fabrication using structured polarized illumination

A versatile system for the fabrication of surface microstructures is demonstrated by combining the photomechanical response of supramolecular azopolymers with structured polarized illumination from a high resolution spatial light modulator. Surface relief structures with periods 900 nm - 16.5 mu m and amplitudes up to 1.0 mu m can be fabricated with a single 5 sec exposure at 488 nm. Sinusoidal, circular, and chirped surface profiles can be fabricated via direct programming of the spatial light modulator, with no optomechanical realignment required. Surface microstructures can he combined into macroscopic areas by mechanical translation followed by exposure. The surface structures grow immediately in response to illumination, can be visually observed in real time, and require no post-exposure processing. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

A versatile system for fabricating surface microstructures is demonstrated by combining the photomechanical response of supramolecular azopolymers with structured polarized illumination. Surface relief structures with various periods and amplitudes can be fabricated with a single exposure, and different surface profiles can be generated by programming the spatial light modulator. The combination of multiple surface microstructures into macroscopic areas is also achieved, and the growth and observation of the structures can be done in real time without post-exposure processing.