In this study, we demonstrate the potential capability to control Tamm plasmon-polaritons (TPP) by applying atomic layer deposition (ALD) as a highly precise technique for plasmonic applications. Applications in plasmonics usually require tens of nanometers or less thick layers; thus, ALD is a very suitable technique with monolayer-by-monolayer growth of angstrom resolution. Spectroscopic ellipsometry and polarized reflection intensity identified the TPP resonances in the photonic band gap (PBG) formed by periodically alternating silicon oxide and tantalum oxide layers. The sub-nanometer control of the Al2O3 layer by ALD allows precise tailoring of TPP resonances within a few nanometers of spectral shift. The employing of the ALD method for the fabrication of thin layers with sub-nanometer thickness accuracy in more complex structures proves to be a versatile platform for practical applications where tunable plasmonic resonances of high quality are required.

Multi-photon lithography empowers additive manufacturing of free-form 3D structures. Currently it is being established for production of miniature optical elements including stacked compound components: diffractive, refractive, guiding, filtering, polarizing, and many other optical functions can be merged into monolith devices with super-wavelength and sub-wavelength features. Still such optics are limited to polymers which are low grade in context of optical materials. We present improvements in their transparency and increasing their laser induced damage threshold (LIDT). This is made by covering the micro-optics with anti-reflective coating employing atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. In contrast to previous reports, the employed material is hybrid organic-inorganic SZ2080TM substance, which be calcinated and turn the objects into glass-ceramics. The transparency after ALD is improved for a single, doublet, and triplet micro-lenses at 633 nm. The calcination increases LIDT for the micro-lenses by several times validated by S-on-1 tests. The research work opens additive manufacturing of transparent and durable 3D micro-optical components by combining ALD and calcination.

Laser Direct Writing (LDW) allows for the fabrication of complex free-form structures, particularly advantageous in micro-optic applications when used in conjunction with high-performance polymers, such as SZ2080™. Nonetheless, high-complexity and integrated micro-optical elements often manifest multiple interfaces, resulting in increased Fresnel reflection losses. While conventional physical vapour deposition processes are usually employed in the manufacture of high-precision optics, such methods are incapable of producing uniform coatings on micrometer scale complex free-form structures. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is an alternative highly flexible coating process, able to coat intricate geometries down to nano-scale. We propose the use of LDW in conjunction with ALD in the production of highly efficient anti-reflective (AR) coated functional free-form sub-100 μm micro-optic elements - multi-layer platforms and triplet objectives. Low-temperature deposition of aluminum oxide and titanium oxide AR coating proved to be compatible with SZ2080™ polymer structures, as no loss of optical function was observed. In addition, a substantial increase in transmittance, up to 99.9% per interface, is seen. Such findings prove suitable for use in highly efficient compound micro-lens arrays, greatly integrated solutions, and low-loss photonic components making them readily available for Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs).

Laser 3D nanolithography enables the fabrication of complex shape micro-optical elements. The freedom of multi-surface designs of such components has cost them to suffer from reflection losses. This work presents the deposition of an Antireflective (AR) coating, using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), on hybrid organic-inorganic polymer SZ2080™ microstructures and micro-lenses fabricated using Laser Direct Writing (LDW). The single-wavelength AR coating produced using ALD successfully reduced reflection from 3.3 % to 0.1 % at 633 nm for one surface of SZ2080™.

Multi-photon lithography realized by a femtosecond laser direct writing in a photopolymer is an ultra-precise optical 3D printing technique enabling additive manufacturing of free-form geometries. It is being established for rapid prototyping and production of miniature optical elements and stacked compound components: diffractive, refractive, guiding, filtering, polarizing, and many other optical functions can be merged into monolith devices with super-wavelength and sub-wavelength features. Currently the multi-photon laser lithography made optics are limited to polymer materials which are low grade in context of optical materials [1].

The increasing demand for optics quality requires the lowest optical power loss, which can occur from unwanted reflections. Laser direct writing (LDW) allows for the fabrication of complex structures, which is particularly advantageous in micro-optic applications. This research demonstrates the possibility of forming an anti-reflective coating on hybrid polymer micro-lenses fabricated by employing LDW without changing their geometry. Such coating deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD) decreased the reflection from 3.3% to 0.1% at a wavelength of 633 nm for one surface of hybrid organic–inorganic SZ2080™ material. This research validates the compatibility of ALD with LDW 3D multiphoton lithography synergistically, expanding its applications on optical grade sub-100 μm scale micro-optics.

We report on the 3D printing of high transparency and resiliency free-form micro-optics. The fabrication is realized employing combining femtosecond laser direct write 3D nanolithography (fs-LDW or a.k.a. two-photon polymerization) with high temperature calcination (sintering) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques. The developed approach allows production of diverse single optical elements and stacked components ranging in dimensions from 10 to 100 µm. Produced micro-optic objects are characterized of their optical performance (focusing, imaging, transparency) and determining their laser induced damage threshold (LIDT). This opens novel applications of laser 3D printed microoptics under harsh conditions: radiation, temperature, acidic environment, pressure variations.