Institute of Transport and Automation Technology Research Publications
Hybrid aerosol jet μ -stereolithography additive manufacturing for fabrication of multi-material polymer step-index optics

Hybrid aerosol jet μ -stereolithography additive manufacturing for fabrication of multi-material polymer step-index optics

Categories Zeitschriften/Aufsätze (reviewed)
Year 2023
Authors Rezaei, H. S.; Hinkelmann, M.; Neumann, J.;Kracht, D.;Overmeyer, L.
Published in Optical Engineering, Vol. 62, Issue 9, 095105
Description

We propose a technique for additive manufacturing of polymer step-index (STIN) optics. The process is composed of aerosol jet multi-material deposition followed by laser-assisted stereolithography in an alternating fashion to fabricate multi-material three-dimensional objects. The layer-wise dynamic tuning of the refractive index provides the possibility to fabricate optics with tailored index profiles. The index range achieved by the presented approach is considerably higher than the common index tuning techniques. Using this technique, a planar multilayer STIN lens is fabricated. The index profile of the fabricated lens has similar progression to the designed profile. In addition, through simulation and also optical characterization, the lensing functionality of the structure is observed

DOI 10.1117/1.OE.62.9.095105