title: Fabricating optical lenses by inkjet printing and heat-assisted in situ curing of polydimethylsiloxane for smartphone microscopy.
abstract: We present a highly repeatable, lithography-free and mold-free method for fabricating flexible optical lenses by in situ curing liquid polydimethylsiloxane droplets on a preheated smooth surface with an inkjet printing process. This method enables us to fabricate lenses with a focal length as short as 5.6 mm, which can be controlled by varying the droplet volume and the temperature of the preheated surface. Furthermore, the lens can be attached to a smartphone camera without any accessories and can produce high-resolution (1  μm) images for microscopy applications.
authors.affiliation: University of Houston, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 4800 Cullen Road, Houston, Texas 77004, United States.
authors.forename: Yu-Lung
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: University of Houston, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 4800 Cullen Road, Houston, Texas 77004, United States.
authors.forename: Jenn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeang
authors.affiliation: University of Houston, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 4800 Cullen Road, Houston, Texas 77004, United States.
authors.forename: Chia-Hsiung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: University of Houston, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 4800 Cullen Road, Houston, Texas 77004, United StatesbUniversity of Houston, Department of Biomedical Engineering, 4800 Cullen Road, Houston, Texas 77004, United StatescUniversity o.
authors.forename: Wei-Chuan
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Shih
mesh_terms: D016287:Computer Peripherals; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006244:Hardness; D006361:Heating; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation; D007909:Lenses; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D000068997:Smartphone / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; C013830:baysilon