Graphene coated Si mold for precision glass optics molding

Despite many attractive properties and well developed micro/nano manufacturing technologies based on silicon (Si) wafers, severe adhesions between Si and glass at high temperature have limited its application as a mold material in precision glass molding. In this research, a coating using carbide-bonded graphene is introduced to build non-stick Si molds for glass molding. The coating has extraordinary mechanical properties and can effectively prevent Si-glass adhesion under high temperature. We demonstrated fabrications of a glass Fresnel lens and glass parts with micron pillars using graphene coated Si molds. This newly developed process enables the use of Si as a mold material to fabricate sophisticated structures with high precision dimensions that was not previously available. This technology will greatly improve precision glass molding process and allow high precision low cost glass optics to be manufactured in large quantity.