Printed Micro-Optics in Photopolymers: Lens Form, Surface Error, Refractive State and Optical Qualification

Printed micro-optics are unusually sensitive to the difference between nominal shape and realised optical state. This review treats a printed lens as a coupled geometry-material system: sag, centring, edge form, surface spatial-frequency content, refractive index, dispersion and environmental conditioning all contribute to focal and wavefront performance. Two-photon and vat-photopolymer routes are compared as manufacturing platforms rather than ranked by nominal resolution alone. The review separates metrology of form from metrology of refractive state, then links both to focal length, point-spread function, modulation transfer and scatter. Particular attention is given to process-induced shrinkage, voxel anisotropy and post-cure drift, because these can produce apparently correct dimensions while moving optical power. Qualification is framed around traceable surface and material measurements that predict functional error before system-level testing, with multilevel Fresnel microlenses providing an example of how fabrication fidelity and focusing efficiency must be assessed together.

ER-331 · Version 0.4.