Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026
08:19
Patterning via Optical Saturable Transitions - Fabrication and Characterization
Published on: December 11, 2014
Replication of micro-optical elements with continuous relief by ultraviolet embossing with thiol-ene-based resist
1Research Center of Ultra-precision Optoelectronic Instrumentation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China. P.Jin@hit.edu.cn
Applied Optics
|July 21, 2011
Summary
This study introduces thiol-ene-based resist for UV embossing micro-optics, significantly reducing fabrication errors caused by polymerization shrinkage. The novel resist achieves less than 2% vertical error and shows excellent etching resistance for fused silica replication.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optical Engineering
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Polymerization shrinkage in UV embossing causes significant fabrication errors in micro-optical elements.
- Traditional acrylate-based resists suffer from high polymerization shrinkage, limiting replication accuracy.
- Continuous relief micro-optical elements require advanced replication techniques to maintain fidelity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To utilize the delayed gel point characteristic of thiol-ene-based resist to minimize polymerization shrinkage.
- To reduce fabrication errors during UV embossing of micro-optical elements with continuous relief.
- To evaluate the performance of thiol-ene-based resist compared to traditional acrylate-based resists.
Main Methods:
- UV embossing of micro-optical elements using thiol-ene-based resist.
- Characterization of polymerization shrinkage and fabrication error.
- Evaluation of resist performance at varying residual layer thicknesses.
- Reactive ion etching of thiol-ene-based resist on fused silica substrates.
Main Results:
- Thiol-ene-based resist reduced vertical fabrication error to less than 2% at optimal thickness.
- This represents a significant improvement over traditional acrylate-based resists.
- The resist demonstrated good etching resistance, enabling transfer to fused silica.
Conclusions:
- The delayed gel point of thiol-ene-based resist effectively mitigates polymerization shrinkage in UV embossing.
- This resist is suitable for high-accuracy replication of micro-optical elements with continuous relief.
- Thiol-ene-based resist offers a viable alternative for fabricating micro-optics in fused silica.
