Techniques for manufacturing a waveguide with a three-dimensional lens
First Claim
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1. A method for manufacturing an optical structure comprising:
- applying a layer of photopolymer material onto a bottom cladding layer, which is formed over a support substrate;
providing a patterned grayscale mask that allows a certain pattern of light to pass through the mask at varying intensities;
exposing the layer of photopolymer material to light that is directed through the grayscale mask such that selected portions of the photopolymer material are exposed to an exposure gradient of light, the exposure gradient of light having light rays of varying intensities;
developing the layer of photopolymer material with a developer solution to remove portions of the layer of photopolymer material such that the remaining portion of the photopolymer material forms a waveguide that is integrated with an optical lens; and
rinsing the layer of photopolymer material to wash away the removed portions of the photopolymer material.
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Abstract
Optical transmission structures include a waveguide and an optical lens wherein the optical lens has a sufficiently large thickness to allow the formation of a curved front lens surface that collimates transmitted light rays so that they travel within a plane that is coplanar to a working surface. The present invention also relates to a technique for manufacturing the optical transmission structure, which involves the use of a photopolymer material. The optical transmission structure can be implemented in various systems such as a system for optical data input.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for manufacturing an optical structure comprising:
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applying a layer of photopolymer material onto a bottom cladding layer, which is formed over a support substrate;
providing a patterned grayscale mask that allows a certain pattern of light to pass through the mask at varying intensities;
exposing the layer of photopolymer material to light that is directed through the grayscale mask such that selected portions of the photopolymer material are exposed to an exposure gradient of light, the exposure gradient of light having light rays of varying intensities;
developing the layer of photopolymer material with a developer solution to remove portions of the layer of photopolymer material such that the remaining portion of the photopolymer material forms a waveguide that is integrated with an optical lens; and
rinsing the layer of photopolymer material to wash away the removed portions of the photopolymer material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of manufacturing an optical structure comprising:
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applying a layer of photopolymer material onto a support substrate;
exposing the layer of photopolymer material to an exposure gradient of light, the exposure gradient of light being formed by directing light through a patterned grayscale mask that allows the light to pass through the mask at varying intensities;
developing the layer of photopolymer material with a developer solution to remove portions of the layer of photopolymer material such that the remaining portion of the photopolymer material forms a waveguide that is integrated with an optical lens wherein the optical lens has a height that is larger than a height of the waveguide and the optical lens has an inclined and curved front lens surface; and
rinsing the layer of photopolymer material to wash away the removed portions of the photopolymer material. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of manufacturing an optical structure comprising:
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applying a layer of photopolymer material onto a bottom cladding layer, which is formed upon a support substrate;
exposing the layer of photopolymer material to light that is directed through a patterned grayscale mask that allows a certain pattern of light to pass through the mask at varying intensities such that selected portions of the photopolymer material are exposed to varying intensities of light;
developing the layer of photopolymer material with a developer solution to remove portions of the layer of photopolymer material such that the remaining portion of the photopolymer material forms a waveguide that is integrated with an optical lens, wherein the optical lens has a front lens surface having a curvature that is defined within three dimensions, wherein light rays transmitted from the waveguide are collimated by the optical lens so that the light rays are emitted through the front lens surface in a plane that is substantially coplanar to a top surface of the support substrate; and
rinsing the layer of photopolymer material to wash away the removed portions of the photopolymer material. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A system for manufacturing an optical structure comprising:
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a support substrate having a top surface;
a bottom cladding layer formed over the top surface of the support substrate;
a layer of photopolymer material this applied to the bottom cladding layer;
a light source that emits light; and
a patterned grayscale mask having a grayscale pattern that allows a desired pattern of light from the light source to shine onto the layer of photopolymer material, the grayscale pattern also allowing light to pass through the grayscale mask at different intensity levels, wherein a waveguide with an integrated optical lens can be formed in the photopolymer material layer through a photolithography process. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification