TWI402163B - Method of making an optical element - Google Patents

Description

Optical element manufacturing method

The present invention relates to a method of fabricating an optical component, and more particularly to a method of fabricating an optical component by imprinting.

At present, many optical components, such as refractive components, diffractive components, and the like, are stamped (see The Novel Fabrication Method and Optimum Tooling Design Used for Microlens Arrays, Proceedings of the 1st IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems; Production by way of January 18-21, 2006, Zhuhai, China).

Generally, imprinting refers to first applying a liquid or plastically deformed material to a substrate and then stamping it with an imprinting mold. If the embossed optical component, such as both surfaces of the convex lens, is an optical surface, there are two ways of production. One system uses a double-sided imprinting mold, and the second system uses a single-sided imprinting mold to imprint the first surface and then flips the semi-finished product to the second surface.

However, the cost of the double-sided imprinting mold is too high, and the problem of single-sided imprinting is that after the embossed first surface is turned over, stress concentration occurs during the second imprinting because the molding surface becomes uneven. Problem when embossing the mold to the second surface When applying force, it is easy to destroy the first surface that has been formed and reduce the yield of the product.

In view of this, it is necessary to provide an imprinting method that avoids damaging the formed optical surface.

A method of manufacturing an optical component, comprising the steps of: providing a transparent substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; coating the optical component forming material on the first surface; Forming a first optical surface on a surface; providing a bearing mold, the bearing mold having a bearing surface matching the first optical surface; the bearing surface abutting the first optical surface; The second surface coats the optical element forming material; the second optical surface is embossed on the second surface.

Compared with the prior art, the embossing method provided by the present invention utilizes the bearing mold to abut against the formed first optical surface to support the first optical surface to reduce the embossing of the second optical surface. Stress concentration caused by unevenness of the first optical surface.

101‧‧‧Transparent substrate

1011‧‧‧ first surface

1012‧‧‧ second surface

1021‧‧‧First optical surface

102‧‧‧Optical molding materials

103, 105‧‧‧ mould

104‧‧‧Support model

106‧‧‧Optical molding materials

1041‧‧‧ bearing surface

1051, 2041‧‧‧ molding surface

1023‧‧‧Second optical surface

100‧‧‧Optical components

200‧‧‧First mould

204‧‧‧Second mold

2001‧‧‧ Lower surface

202‧‧‧Intermediate mould

206‧‧‧Substrate

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a flow chart showing a method of manufacturing an optical element of the present invention.

2 is a schematic view of a transparent substrate and an optical molding material according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of the imprinting of the first optical surface of the embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a schematic view showing the imprint of the second optical surface of the embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of an optical component in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

6 and 7 are schematic views showing the manufacture of the bearing mold used in the embodiment of the present invention.

The invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, a method for manufacturing an optical component of the present invention includes the steps of: providing a transparent substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; and coating the optical component molding material on the first surface Embossing a first optical surface on the first surface; providing a bearing mold having a bearing surface matching the first optical surface; the bearing surface is offset from the first optical surface And coating an optical element molding material on the second surface; and molding the second optical surface on the second surface.

The method of manufacturing the optical element will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

Referring to FIG. 2, the transparent substrate 101 has a first surface 1011 and a second surface 1012 opposite to each other. The optical molding material 102 is coated on the first surface 1011. The optical molding material 102 is a thermoplastic material or a thermosetting material. In a liquid or molten state, the optical molding material 102 is cured by exposure to heat or ultraviolet light.

Referring to FIG. 3, the imprinting mold 103 is aligned with the optical molding material 102 for imprinting to form the first optical surface 1021. Then, the ultraviolet light passes through the mold 103 to the light. The molding material 102 is irradiated to cure the optical molding material 102, and finally, the mold 103 is removed to obtain a semi-finished product of the optical component.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, since the semi-finished product already has the first optical surface 1021, whether the first optical surface 1021 is a convex surface, a concave surface, or an aspheric surface, the step surface is performed on the surface 1012 by using a single-sided stamping machine. The second imprinting inevitably causes the problem of stress concentration due to the unevenness of the first optical surface 1021. During the embossing process of the second optical surface, the pressure applied to the first optical surface 1021 is different, especially the stress concentration at the interface between the first optical surface 1021 and the common surface is relatively obvious. Therefore, the shape of the first optical surface 1021 will be damaged. Therefore, in the case of secondary imprinting, the present invention employs the bearing die 104 to solve the problem of stress concentration.

The transparent substrate 101 is inverted such that the surface 1012 faces the imprinting mold 105 of the imprinter and the optical molding material 106 is applied to the surface 1012. The bearing die 104 has a bearing surface 1041. The first optical surface 1021 is perfectly matched to the bearing surface 1041. For example, if the first optical surface 1021 is convex, the bearing surface is concave and the height of the protrusion is equal to the depth of the recess. The bearing surface 1041 is offset from the first optical surface 1021.

The imprint mold 105 has a molding surface 1051. The imprinting mold 105 is aligned with the imprinting material 106 for imprinting to obtain a second optical surface 1023 that matches the molding surface 1051, thus forming the optical element 100.

In this embodiment, both the mold 103 and the mold 105 can transmit light; the bearing mold 104 can transmit light or be opaque.

Further, if the irradiation direction of the ultraviolet light is exactly opposite to the irradiation direction shown in this embodiment, the bearing mold 104 must transmit light to cure the optical molding material 106.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , the manufacturing process of the bearing die 104 used in the present invention is: providing a first die 200 and a second die 204 , wherein the first die 200 is transparent, and the second die 204 is formed. The surface 2041 has the same shape as the first optical surface 1021; the optical molding material is coated on the lower surface 2001 of the first mold 200; the second mold 204 is pressed against the optical molding material, and the optical molding material is cured by ultraviolet light to form the intermediate mold 202, Wherein, the molding surface of the intermediate mold 202 is the same shape as the first optical surface 1021 of the optical element; a substrate 206 is provided; an optical molding material is coated on the surface of the substrate 206, and the intermediate mold 202 is pressed against the optical molding material, and then the ultraviolet light is used. The bearing mold 104 can be formed by curing the optical molding material by curing or heat curing.

Therefore, the molding surface of the bearing die 104 matches the shape of the first optical surface 1021.

In the process of manufacturing the intermediate mold 202 and the bearing mold 104 by the imprinting, the materials of the two molds are all thermosetting materials or thermoplastic materials.

It can be understood that the optical molding material can also be coated on the molding surface 2041 of the second mold 204.

In addition, since the shape of the optical first surface 1021 is the same as the shape of the molding surface of the intermediate mold 202, the optical having the first optical surface 1021 embossed can be directly used under the condition that the elasticity and pressure resistance of the optical material are good. Element 100 is stamped as an intermediate mold to form bearing mold 104.

In summary, the present invention has indeed met the requirements of the invention patent, and has filed a patent application according to law. However, the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it is not possible to limit the scope of the patent application of the present invention. Equivalent modifications or variations made by persons skilled in the art in light of the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (4)

A method of manufacturing an optical component, comprising the steps of: providing a transparent substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; coating the optical component forming material on the first surface; Forming a first optical surface on a surface; providing a bearing mold, the bearing mold having a bearing surface matching the first optical surface; the bearing surface abutting the first optical surface; The second surface coats the optical element forming material; the second optical surface is embossed on the second surface. The method of manufacturing an optical component according to claim 1, wherein the optical component molding material is a thermoplastic material or a thermosetting material. The manufacturing method of the optical component according to claim 1, wherein the manufacturing method of the bearing mold comprises the steps of: providing a first mold and a second mold, wherein the first mold has a lower surface The second mold has a molding surface matching the shape of the first optical surface; coating the optical molding material on any one of the lower surface of the first mold and the molding surface of the second mold; moving the first Either the mold and the second mold are disposed between the lower surface of the first mold and the molding surface of the second mold; The first mold is pressed against the second mold, and the optical molding material is cured by ultraviolet light to form an intermediate mold, wherein the molding surface of the intermediate mold has the same shape as the first optical surface of the optical element; The substrate has a surface; an optical molding material is coated on the surface of the substrate, and a molding surface of the intermediate mold is pressed against the optical molding material, and the optical molding material is cured by ultraviolet light to form a bearing mold. The manufacturing method of the optical component according to claim 1, wherein the manufacturing method of the bearing mold comprises the steps of: using an optical component having a first optical surface as an intermediate mold; providing a substrate having a substrate a surface; an optical molding material is coated on the surface of the substrate, and the first optical surface of the intermediate mold is pressed against the optical molding material to cure the optical molding material to form a bearing mold.