Optimized additive manufacturing of optics

A method of manufacturing one or more instances of a target electromagnetic device having a gradient in a dielectric property in one or more spatial dimensions of the target electromagnetic device, the method comprising:

• forming a test coupon by print-based additive manufacturing according to an initial print map that defines an array of values corresponding to an array of voxels of the test coupon, wherein each value of the array of values of the initial print map defines a quantity or relative proportion of two or more component materials that differ in the dielectric property, the test coupon comprising an electromagnetic device having a test gradient in the dielectric property in one or more spatial dimensions of the test coupon,
• wherein forming the test coupon comprises material deposition of the two or more component materials at relative proportions that vary in the one or more spatial dimensions of the test coupon;
• testing the test coupon by measuring an electromagnetic response of the test coupon to electromagnetic radiation incident on the test coupon;
• generating a target print map for the target electromagnetic device based on the measured electromagnetic response of the test coupon, the target print map defining an array of values corresponding to an array of voxels of the target electromagnetic device, wherein each value of the array of values of the target print map defines a quantity or relative proportion of the two or more component materials;
• and
• forming the one or more instances of the target electromagnetic device by print-based additive manufacturing according to the target print map,
• wherein forming the one or more instances of the target electromagnetic device by print-based additive manufacturing includes material deposition of the two or more component materials voxel-by-voxel according to the array of values of the target print map to obtain the gradient in the dielectric property of the target electromagnetic device by, for each instance of the one or more instances:
• varying relative proportions of the two or more component materials in the one or more spatial dimensions of the target electromagnetic device based on the electromagnetic response measured for the test coupon.