Si-micromachining for optics: Optical components and sensors

Si micromachinig is a promising technique for fabricating several optical components. It is also indispensable for the low-cost assembly. We studied the Si micromaching for fabricating optical sensors and components. The Si crystalline etching was studied for generating the mirror surface smooth enough to be used in micro-laser-cavity. The etched Si mirror surface was transferred to the polymer replica by molding. Laser oscillation was demonstrated with the replicated solid-dye-micro-laser. The optical transmission structures were also fabricated by etching through Si wafer with the deep RIE, and used for new optical components. The integrated pinhole filter, position sensor and optical encoder were proposed. Integration of optical components with micro-actuator makes the optical system variable. The three-dimensional structures with actuators were fabricated by the new lithographic technique using spray resist coater. A tunable filter for telecommunication and a laser beam scanner with micro-mirror were fabricated.