High Refractive Index GRIN Lens for IR Optics

Abstract

Infrared gradient refractive index (GRIN) material lenses have attracted much attention due to their continuously varying refractive index as a function of spatial coordinates in the medium. Herein, a glass accumulation thermal diffusion method was used to fabricate a high refractive index GRIN lens. Six Ge17.2As17.2SexTe(65−x) (x = 10.5–16) glasses with good thermal stability and high refractive index (n@10 μm > 3.1) were selected for thermal diffusion. The refractive index span (∆n) of 0.12 was achieved in this GRIN lens. After thermal diffusion, the lens still had good transmittance (45%) in the range of 8–12 μm. Thermal imaging confirmed that this lens can be molded into the designed shape. The refractive index profile was indirectly characterized by the structure and composition changes. The structure and composition variation became linear with the increase in temperature from 260 °C to 270 °C for 12 h, indicating that the refractive index changed linearly along the axis. The GRIN lens with a high refractive index could find applications in infrared optical systems and infrared lenses for thermal imaging.