Simple fabrication of cylindrical sol-gel microlens array by reflowing technique

In this paper, we report the fabrication of a 128-x 1024-element cylindrical microlens array in a low-cost inorganic-organic SiO 2 /ZrO 2 sol-gel glass using reflowing technique. The fabricated microlens array had excellent surface smoothness and dimension uniformity. The prime advantages of the hybrid sol-gel material are its suitability as an etching-free negative-tone UV-sensitive material, uniformity, and other excellent optical properties. Microfabrication in sol-gel glass using the reflowing technique is demonstrated as a cost-effective and high-volume production technology for micro-optical elements.