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We present a new organic photosensitive material for volume holographic recording. Advanced material composition and sample preparation eliminates the need for a protective layer and allows layer fabrication with variable thickness and a free surface. Optimized chemical formulation results in a high energetic sensitivity, high angular selectivity and high inducible refractive index contrast. We investigate the photoresponse and nonsinusoidal refractive index profiles. We demonstrate highly resolved optical structuring with up to 8000 lines per mm. Imaging of the holographic phase gratings is accomplished by optical microscopy.

Microlens arrays fabricated by a direct ink-jet printing of UV-curable hybrid polymer are reported. A periodic pattern of polymer drops was ink-jet printed on the surface-treated glass substrate and cured in the UV-light. Using this simple technique, we demonstrated periodic arrays of almost semi-spherical microlenses of 50 μm diameter size and a focal distance of 48μm. The optical characteristics of solitary μ-lenses and arrays comprising up to 64x64 microlenses are measured both in the near- and far-field zones. Large numerical aperture and short focal distance make the ink-jet printing of microlenses very attractive for applications in optical interconnects, large 2D VCSEL arrays and pixelated imagine sensors utilizing CCD or SPAD arrays, offering thus an efficient, simple and a cheap alternative to the conventionally used photolithography technique.