Development of fabrication process for integrated micro-optical elements on Si substrate

We have developed a new process for fabricating micro-optical elements by applying deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) process and thermal oxidation. This processing technique enables us to make micro-lenses and prisms on a Si substrate without assembly because they are made on the Si substrate with a single etching mask. This process can also form other optical elements, such as optical waveguides, by changing the mask pattern.