# Laser Fabrication and Comparative Study of Planoconcave and Planoconvex Microlenses on Fused Silica and Sapphire

## TL;DR

This paper describes laser fabrication techniques for creating planoconcave and planoconvex microlenses on materials like fused silica and sapphire, and compares their performance.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is the experimental and simulation-based comparison of planoconcave microlenses fabricated using picosecond and CO2 lasers on different materials.

## Key findings

- Planoconcave lenses were successfully fabricated on sapphire using laser techniques.
- Planoconvex microlens arrays on fused silica showed good optical transmission and surface quality.
- Comparative studies revealed performance differences between lenses made with picosecond and CO2 lasers.

## Abstract

We report on fabricating planoconcave lenses using a picosecond 355 nm wavelength laser and a CO2 laser. We also report the fabrication of the planoconvex microlens array on fused silica by patterned micromachining using a picosecond laser and reshaping using a CO2 laser. We report results on the surface morphology, profile, roughness, optical transmission efficiency, and laser beam profile of transmitted light passing through the microlens. We demonstrate laser fabrication of planoconcave lenses on infrared transmitting material sapphire. Furthermore, we present the results of an experimental and simulation comparative performance study of planoconcave microlenses obtained by individual picosecond and CO2 lasers.