title: Assessment of integration of off-axis Fresnel lenses into a free-space interconnect.
abstract: The integration of multiple optical functions into a single optical element is often seen as advantageous to improve practicality and/or performance. In free-space devices, a common way to achieve this is to use off-axis Fresnel lenses to simultaneously collimate and redirect light. We study the impact of this type of integration on assembly tolerances and performance of a free-space interconnect designed to format a one-dimensional set of inputs into a two-dimensional array. Two systems are built and compared: one where light collimation and redirection are performed by different elements and one where these functions were combined into off-axis Fresnel lenses. The integrated system has lower losses but exhibits higher polarization sensitivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. michael.menard@mail.mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Michaël
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ménard
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kirk
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D007909:Lenses; D008027:Light; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D015233:Models, Statistical; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity