Sample-inverted reflow technique for fabrication of a revolved-hyperboloid microlens array in hybrid solgel glass

We propose a novel fabrication method, which is referred to as the sample-inverted reflow technique, to fabricate a refractive microlens array (MLA) with a revolved-hyperboloid profile in a solgel material. The fabricated solgel MLA demonstrates an excellent smooth profile with a fabrication error much less than the difference between the revolved hyperboloid and the spherical surface. In an application of coupling a laser diode (LD) to a single-mode fiber (SMF), we propose a two-MLA coupling scheme in which two revolved-hyperboloid MLAs are used between the LD and the SMF. In this configuration the coupling efficiency achieves 81.7% (-0.88 dB).