Microjet printing methods are being utilized for data-drive fabrication of micro-optical elements such as refractive lenslet arrays, multimode waveguides and microlenses deposited onto the tips of optical fibers. Materials used for microjet printing of micro-optics to date have included optical adhesives and index-tuned thermoplastic formulations dispensed at temperatures up to 200 degree(s)C onto optical substrates and components. By varying such process parameters as numbers and locations of deposited microdroplets, print head temperature and orifice size, and target substrate temperature and surface wetability, arrays of spherical and cylindrical plano-convex microlenses have been fabricated with dimensions ranging from 80 micrometers to 1 mm to precision levels of just a few microns, along with multimode channel waveguides. Optical performance data such as lenslet f/#s and far-field diffraction patterns are presented, along with beam-steering agility data obtained with an optical telescope system assembled from microlens arrays printed by this process.
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