Vol. 42, Issue 4, pp. 853-864 (2012)

Abstract

We describe a simple and reliable approach, by employing a gradual gray-scale lithography process, which is developed for the fabrication of continuous 3D microstructure. A matrix equation has been built to quantitatively calculate the pattern gray and exposure time by combining the digital micromirror device (DMD) modulation characteristics. To avoid DMD pixel error induced by sampling, we also propose a new quantifying method in accordance with DMD pixel dimension to further improve the fabrication precision of the 3D photoresist profile. Finally, different photoresist microstructures with continuous profile, including axicon array and microlens array, have been successfully fabricated.