Fast Prototyping of Facet-Attached Microlenses Using 2PP Printing

Photonic integrated circuits represent a promising approach for mass-produced biosensors that can be used for rapid medical testing in point-of-care diagnostics. An auspicious strategy to achieve more alignment-tolerant coupling of laser light is posed by using printed micro-optics. In this work, printed microlenses are used to enhance the alignment tolerance of edge-coupled laser light into waveguides. A quick prototyping approach achieved a threefold improvement of the horizontal alignment tolerance. With the used printer, the fabrication time of a single lens is reduced to five minutes, enabling fast design iteration and potentially paving the way for cheap and user-friendly PIC sensors.