Direct UV patterning of thick hybrid glass films for micro-opto-mechanical structures

The hybrid sol-gel method is applied to the fabrication of optical and mechanical structures into a photosensitive glass material. High optical quality thick films and structures are fabricated by a one-step spin-coating process followed by direct UV imprinting. A material thickness of 27.5 µm and a maximum patterned thickness of 17.4 µm at an aspect ratio of 0.6 have been achieved. The material exhibits a minimum transmittance of 97% between 400 and 1100 nm, a refractive index of 1.49, and an RMS surface roughness of 14.8 nm after development.