Manufacture of optical element

Abstract

Abstract PURPOSE:To manufacture simply and inexpensively an optical element having a refractive index distribution by impregnating a metallic alcoholate into a porous or gelled glass substrate, carrying out patternwise exposure, and removing the metallic alcoholate in the unexposed part. CONSTITUTION:A porous or gelled glass substrate 10 is immersed in a soln. of a metallic alcoholate such as Si or Ge alcoholate in a vessel 11, and a layer 13 contg. the soln. 12 is formed in the substrate 10 up to a fixed depth from the surface by diffusing a fixed amount of the soln. 12 in the substrate 10. The layer 13 is exposed through a photomask 14, and the metallic alcoholate in the exposed part is made solid by a reaction and fixed in the substrate 10. The substrate 10 is then immersed in an org. solvent such as methanol to extract and remove the unreacted metallic alcoholate in the unexposed part, and it is dried to obtain an optical element having a patterned part 15 which is different from other part in refractive index in the substrate 10.

Inventors

• 👤 Masayoshi Ono
• 👤 大野　正善
• 👤 Takeshi Yamada
• 👤 武 山田
• 👤 Takashi Kurokawa
• 👤 隆志 黒川
• 👤 Akiyuki Tate
• 👤 彰之 館

Bibliographic Details