Wafer-Level Integration of Replicated Polymer Micro-Optics With Micromechanical Systems

This letter reports a simple technique of fabricating complex micro-optical elements integrated with silicon-based microelectromechanical systems. The proposed method utilizes a replication technique using soft-mold to fabricate optical components on top of a machined wafer, followed by patterning of produced replica by photolithography. Combination of replication and patterning on wafer-level allows simultaneous fabrication and integration of complex micro-opto-mechanical systems. The optical components are fabricated with negative photoresist SU-8, allowing the production of transmissive or reflective optical structures. In this letter, fabrication of diffraction grating and spherical and cylindrical microlenses is demonstrated.