High resolution fabrication of three dimensional polymeric structures with Direct Laser Writing (DLW) holds a unique potential for the miniaturization of bulk optical elements. This has been so far mainly demonstrated for the fabrication of reflective, refractive and phase-mask micro-optics. Here we show the use of DLW for the fabrication of a miniaturized phase retarder element, a Fresnel Rhomb, which acts as a broadband quarter-wave plate. We show the integration of the Fresnel Rhomb onto a polarization-maintaining optical fiber, converting linearly polarized light from the fiber into circularly polarized light over a very broad spectral range.  

LPT2871161.pdf​