Etching of optical microstructures and uses

摘要

The invention refers to a method and a system for the fabrication of surface relief optical microstructures of very small characteristic dimensions suitable for yielding diffraction according to hologram design requirements based on the direct selective solid materials microetching, by using short wavelength, for example ultraviolet laser light, on the surfaces of solid materials with a main aim the recording of optical information. The method is characterized by the application of strong demagnification and simultaneously high-resolution optical imaging such as to achieve high energy density of radiation, targeting to the selective photodissociation and not to thermal evaporation of materials which may have a generic physical nature and geometrical shape. The invention is applied for the production of holograms, the pattern of which has been designed in a computer, specific optical diffraction elements and generally digitized optical microstructures. The invention includes embodiments in sectors of high interest in which conventional lithographic techniques fail and specifically to mass industrial production sectors in photonic and information technology, security encoding and authenticity verification, building illumination and solar energy collection.