Integrating micro-optical components at the end facet of an optical fiber enables compact optics to shape the output beam (e.g. collimating, focusing, and coupling to free space elements or photonic integrated circuits). However, the scalability of this approach is a longstanding challenge as these components must be aligned onto individual fiber facets. In this paper, we propose a socket that enables easy slotting of fibers, self-alignment, and coupling onto micro-optical components. This integrated socket can be detached from the substrate upon fiber insertion to create a stand-alone optical system. Fabrication is done using nanoscale 3D printing via two-photon polymerization lithography onto glass substrates, which allows multiple sockets to be patterned in a single print. We investigated variations in socket design and evaluated the performance of optical elements for telecom wavelengths. We obtained an alignment accuracy of ∼3.5 µm. These socket designs can be customized for high efficiency chip to fiber coupling and extended to other spectral ranges for free-form optics.

Design flexibility, ease of use, and reduced wastage have made additive manufacturing well suited for producing functional prints in many fields including optics. As surface quality is compromised in many cases, postprocessing or better fabrication techniques are required. Advanced fabrication techniques such as two-photon polymerization lithography (TPL) have enabled nanoand microscale fabrications with high surface quality, while postprocessing improves the surface quality of macroscale structures. However, fabricating mesoscale optical components is still challenging as these structures require a lot of time to fabricate with TPL and postprocessing capabilities are limited at these dimensions. Low-cost resin printers are now equipped with 4K resolution screens claiming pixel sizes of ∼35 μm. Still, improvements in print resolution and surface smoothness could be obtained with a simple modification to the setup. Here, we study the impact of introducing a fiber-optic taper to demagnify the images from the screen of a low-cost hobbyist grade resin printer for mesoscale (100 μm to 5 mm) fabrication, achieving a resolution of ∼15 μm half-pitch. We compared normal and modified printing techniques, with gains in resolution used to fabricate a working Fresnel lens.