Fabrication Technologies for Micro- and Nano-Optics

Level: Introductory Length: 4 hours Format: In-Person Lecture Intended Audience: Engineers, scientists, and managers who are interested in the design, manufacture, or application of micro/nano-optics, or systems that integrate these devices. A background in basic optics is helpful but not assumed. Description: Applications of micro and nano-scale optics are widespread in essentially every industry that uses light in some way. A short list of sample application areas includes communications, solar power, biomedical sensors, laser-assisted manufacturing, and a wide range of consumer electronics. Understanding both the possibilities and limitations for manufacturing micro- and nano-optics is useful to anyone interested in these areas. To this end, this course provides an introduction to fabrication technologies for micro- and nano-optics, ranging from refractive microlenses to diffractive optics to sub-wavelength optical nanostructures. After a short overview of key applications and theoretical background for these devices, the principles of photolithography are introduced. With this backdrop, a wide variety of lithographic and non-lithographic fabrication methods for micro- and nano-optics are discussed in detail, followed by a survey of testing methods. Relative advantages and disadvantages of different techniques are discussed in terms of both technical capabilities and scalability for manufacturing. Issues and trends in micro- and nano-optics fabrication are also considered, focusing on both technical challenges and manufacturing infrastructure. Learning Outcomes: This course will enable you to: - describe and compare performance and metrological testing methods for micro- and nano-optics - explain basic principles of photolithography and how they apply to the fabrication of micro- and nano-optics - describe example applications and key 'rules of thumb' for micro- and nano-optics - identify and explain multiple techniques for micro- and nano-optics fabrication - evaluate fabrication trends and supporting process technologies for volume manufacturing - compare the advantages and disadvantages of different manufacturing methods Instructor(s): Thomas J. Suleski has been actively involved in research and development of micro- and nano-optics since 1991 at Georgia Tech, Digital Optics Corporation, and since 2003, as a member of the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He holds over 140 technical publications, including 13 patents, in the areas of micro- and nanoscale optics, freeform and conformal optics, optical microsystems, and optical manufacturing. He is co-author of Diffractive Optics: Design, Fabrication, and Test (SPIE Press), and has served as Senior Editor for JM3, the Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS and MOEMS since 2004. Dr. Suleski is Site Director for the NSF I/UCRC Center for Freeform Optics (CeFO), and a Fellow of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering. Event: SPIE Photonics West 2016 Course Held: 16 February 2016