Diffraction gratings in sol–gel films by direct contact printing using a UV-mercury lamp

Fabrication of photo-patterned microstructures in an organic–inorganic hybrid material incorporating silver nanoparticles

“…Smaller features could not be made due to limitations in the resolution of the photo-mask. However, using a more sophisticated, higher-resolution photomask, Ä yräs et al [3] have generated feature sizes as small as 1 lm in a similar photo-patternable hybrid material with no Ag doping. Given the edge qualities demonstrated in Fig.…”

“…Reaction (1) shows the hydrolysis of an alkoxysilane precursor, while reactions (2) and (3) show condensation polymerization reactions between hydrolyzed species (2) and between hydrolyzed species and alkoxy groups (3). The latter two reactions result in the formation of siloxane bridges, "Si-O-Si", which form the inorganic backbone of the hybrid material.…”

“…In recent years, incorporation of photo-polymerizable R 0 groups has been exploited to produce a wide range of interesting materials. In particular, there has been a great deal of interest in materials that can be photo-patterned, for fabrication of microoptical elements such as microlenses [2], diffraction gratings [3][4][5] and stacked optical waveguides [6]. Notably, the fabrication scheme used to make these objects eliminates the etching step of conventional microfabrication methods, since the organic-inorganic hybrid serves as both photo-resist and substrate material.…”

“…Notably, the fabrication scheme used to make these objects eliminates the etching step of conventional microfabrication methods, since the organic-inorganic hybrid serves as both photo-resist and substrate material. Patterning is achieved by photolithography [2][3][4]6] or laser direct writing [7,8]. This is followed by development in a solvent, which removes unexposed material and leaves behind a relief structure patterned in the hybrid material.…”

Micro-replication of optical lenses in glass using a novel sol gel technology

“…These advantages make it a useful process for the fabrication of optical components for various applications such as wave guides, gratings and electro-optical devices. Several sol gel based methods have been proposed for the processing of optical components: UV light imprinting [5], laser holography [6] and embossing [7].…”