Fabrication of thin-film optical devices
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsConrad Stenton, Lothar Scheld, Margarete Neumann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A number of optical devices are fabricated by forming a pattern of channels on a first side of a substrate to define a plurality of mesas on the first side of the substrate. A thin-film optical structure is deposited onto each of the mesas. An excess thickness of the substrate is removed from each thin-film optical device, preferably by temporarily affixing a temporary support to the tops of each thin-film optical structure, removing an excess amount of the substrate from a second side of the substrate so that the thin-film optical devices are isolated from each other but affixed to the temporary support, and separating the tops of the thin-film optical structures from the temporary support.
Claims16
A method for fabricating a plurality of individual thin-film optical devices, comprising the steps of
- providing a substrate having a first side and a second side;
- thereafter
- forming a pattern of channels on the first side of the substrate to define a plurality of mesas on the first side of the substrate;
- thereafter
- depositing a thin-film optical structure onto each of the mesas, each thin-film optical structure having an exposed top;
- and thereafter
- removing an excess portion of the substrate to separate the plurality of individual thin-film optical devices from each other.
A method for fabricating thin-film optical devices, comprising the steps of
- providing a substrate having a first side and a second side;
- thereafter
- forming a pattern of channels on the first side of the substrate to define a plurality of mesas on the first side of the substrate;
- thereafter
- depositing a thin-film optical structure onto each of the mesas, each thin-film optical structure having an exposed top;
- and thereafter
- removing an excess portion of the substrate, wherein the step of removing includes the steps of
- temporarily affixing a temporary support to the top of each thin-film optical structure,
- removing an excess thickness of the substrate from the second side of the substrate so that the thin-film optical structures are isolated from each other but affixed to the temporary support, and
- separating the tops of the thin-film optical structures from the temporary support, thereby forming the thin-film optical devices.
A method for fabricating thin-film optical devices transparent to a selected wavelength of light, comprising the steps of
- providing a substrate that is transparent to the selected wavelength of light and has a first side and a second side;
- thereafter
- forming a pattern of channels on the first side of the substrate to define a plurality of mesas on the first side of the substrate;
- thereafter
- depositing a thin-film optical structure onto each of the mesas, each thin-film optical structure having an exposed top;
- thereafter
- temporarily affixing a temporary support to the tops of the thin-film optical structures;
- thereafter
- removing an excess thickness of the substrate from the second side of the substrate so that the thin-film optical structures are isolated from each other but affixed to the temporary support, and thereafter
- separating the tops of the thin-film optical structures from the temporary support, thereby forming the thin-film optical devices.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.