Centrifugal fabrication of low-cost aspheres for point-of-care optical systems

McCrae Wattinger; Paul Gordon; Gerard Coté

doi:10.1117/12.2510621

14 March 2019 Centrifugal fabrication of low-cost aspheres for point-of-care optical systems

McCrae Wattinger, Paul Gordon, Gerard Coté

Proceedings Volume 10869, Optics and Biophotonics in Low-Resource Settings V; 1086905 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2510621
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2019, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Many point-of-care optical instruments use mass-produced, molded aspheric lenses to reduce the costs and complexity of portable microscopy and spectroscopy systems. This work explores a method for producing low-cost polymeric aspheres and assesses the lens quality for various material types. Single lens imaging of the US Air Force target was used to analyze the experimental resolution limit of each test case. An atomic force microscope was employed to determine the root-meansquare (RMS) surface roughness per lens. Initial results suggest that the system can generate lenses with equitable optical metrics, independent of material type. Preliminary resolution limits of the aspheres have achieved as low as 4 microns, for lenses spun at 250 rpms. Certain materials were found to be incompatible with the fabrication of plano-convex lenses due to the inability to de-mold after curing. Further improvements of the technique, specifically reduced resolution limits, would increase potential utility for low-cost applications in point-of-care optical systems.

Citation Download Citation

McCrae Wattinger, Paul Gordon, and Gerard Coté "Centrifugal fabrication of low-cost aspheres for point-of-care optical systems", Proc. SPIE 10869, Optics and Biophotonics in Low-Resource Settings V, 1086905 (14 March 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2510621

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KEYWORDS

Aspheric lenses

Point-of-care devices

Polymers

Surface roughness

Liquids

Microscopy

Optical components

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