Fabrication of Eyeball-Like Spherical Micro-Lens Array for Optical Fiber Coupling

Batch-fabrication of eyeball-like spherical micro-lens not only reduces micro assembly cost, but also replaces conventional ball-lenses or costly GRINs (Gradient Reflective Index) without sacrificing performance. Compared to the conventional micro-lenses made in a half-spherical geometry, the eyeball-like micro-lens is a sphere, which allows focusing light in all directions on the substrate surface, thus providing application flexibility for optical applications. The current eyeball-like spherical micro-lens is made using photoresist SU-8. This work develops a batch process at low temperature by spin-coating SU-8 on a surface of silicon wafer. The SU-8 thick film is patterned by UV lithography to form an array of holes for holding eyeball-like spherical micro-lens. The fabrication process employs bulk micromachining to fabricate an array of nozzles on the silicon wafer. Next, this process pours viscous SU-8 into the cavity of silicon wafer and presses it through the nozzle before reflow. The eyeball-like spherical micro-balls form by balancing between surface tension and cohesion. Varying the amount of SU-8 pressed through the nozzle controls the diameter of the balls. This paper designs a pattern with a 3 × 3 lens-array with a numerical aperture of about 0.38. Diameters range from 60 to 500 um. Optical measurements indicate a diameter fluctuation within 3% and an optical insertion loss is below 2.5dB with a wavelength of 635nm in a single-mode fiber (SMF). Therefore the eyeballlike spherical micro-lens is capable of increasing coupling efficiency.