Process Modeling and Fabrication of Microlens Array in Thick Photoresist

In this work, the design and fabrication of a low f-number cylindrical microlens array is presented. The lenses were fabricated in thick photo resist of 12 μm thickness, using a contact printer exposure through a mask with a repetitive 6 μm line - 4 μm space pattern. Numerical calculations based on scalar diffraction theory were employed to model the light propagation inside the resist, determining the aerial image as a function of its thickness. Than the resist response characteristics, expressed by its contrast curve, and absorption rate were used to obtain a cross section profile. A good match between numerical and experimental results were found.