Effects of post curing on 3D printed DOEs (Conference Presentation)

Post curing is a common technique in resin based additive manufacturing. With the UV exposure during the print, the polymer might not reach its full polymerization grade. Post curing effects printed optical components as the refractive index depends on the polymerization grade of the material. This talk summarizes some possibilities for printing various diffractive optical elements with a focus on a standard DMD projector. Main object of research is the effects of post curing on the diffractive pattern created by printed samples by evaluating the diffraction contrast. Additionally the refractive index distribution is analyzed with a high-resolution setup.