Mesoscale surface patterning by ring-shaped lithography for single and array optical elements

This contribution addresses an alternative lithographic technique for the tailored fabrication of rotationally symmetric meso- and microscale optical components. A variable ring-shaped light distribution is created by an axicon-pair based zoom-concept and can be used for the manufacturing of single optical components and array elements as well. First, design considerations of the basic axicon system and the achievable system characteristics are discussed. In particular, minimum and maximum ring diameter depending on axicon angle variations and displacement distance of employed axicons as well as potential deviations from the telecentricity condition are considered. Additionally, further aspects concerning the system implementation are presented, e.g. the achievable resolution which is dependent on the entrance pinhole. Finally, the performance of the system is presented by demonstrating the fabrication of exemplary meso- and microscale structures.