Beam propagation in all-glass nanostructured gradient index microlenses

We demonstrate the feasibility of using the nanostructured micro-optics technology to create a large diameter quantized elliptical microlens. Nanostructured gradient index elements have discrete internal structure with feature sizes much smaller than the wavelength of the incident light. Standard methods of GRIN microlens fabrication suffer from limited gadient value as well as from limited accuracy of gradient control. The nanostructured micro-optics fabrication technology, which exploits the techniques used in the fabrication of photonic crystal fibre, can be used to create a wide range of nanostructured gradient index micro-optical components. In this paper we demonstrate the feasibility of using the nanostructured micro-optics technology to create a 20-100 μm diameter quantized elliptical and spherical microlens.