Sol-Gel Prepared Glass for Refractive and Diffractive Micro-Optical Elements and Arrays

The fast sol-gel method enables facile preparation of siloxane-based glassy matrices, in which polymerization is completed within minutes and volume changes <5% take place upon curing. Single-face and two-face replication of micro-optical arrays have been obtained, as well as crack-free elements >10 mm thick. Minimizing shrinkage and enabling relaxation of the drying sol-gel are key factors in the elimination of cracking. These features and the resulting optical quality of the glass make this method technologically and economically attractive for replication-produced micro-lenses and micro-optical arrays.