Fabrication of microlens array on chalcogenide glass by wet etching-assisted femtosecond laser direct writing

Chalcogenide glasses (ChGs) excellent optical materials in the infrared range. ChG lens has important applications in the environmental detection and biochemical imaging field. In this paper, microlens arrays (MLA) with good optical quality were prepared by wet-etching assisted femtosecond laser direct writing technology and 2300 microlenses were prepared in the range of 1 mm(2). By controlling the power of laser direct writing and the time of chemical etching, microlenses with diameters ranging from 15 to 70 mu m could be prepared. An uniform dense stacked MLA with a small volume in the wavelength range of 0.6-12 mu m was achieved. The fabricated MLA has a broad application scenario in cutting-edge mid-infrared fields, due to their tiny size, light weight, high integration, and excellent optical quality.

Automated summary

This paper presents the fabrication of microlens arrays with good optical quality using wet-etching assisted femtosecond laser direct writing technology. The microlenses exhibit a wide range of diameters and achieve uniform dense stacking in the mid-infrared wavelength range. The fabricated microlens arrays have significant applications in cutting-edge mid-infrared fields.