<title>Hot embossing and injection molding for micro-optical components</title>

Abstract

After the successful development of micro-optical components today the first commercial applications are arising. This induces the necessity of adapted production technologies. Hot embossing and injection molding are two techniques to fabricate micro-optical components characterized by lateral structure details below 1 micrometers , structure heights up to one millimeter and aspect ratios between 20 and 100. Injection molding is famous for its short cycle times which makes this method well suited for mass production.Very delicate microstructures and multilayer components can be fabricated e.g. within the framework of the LIGA-process by hot embossing. Examples for micro-optical components fabricate by molding as well as process equipment will be discussed.