A micromachined free-space integrated optical disk pickup head

Summary form only given. In summary, a novel free-space integrated micro-optical disk pickup head has been realized using surface-micromachining techniques. A focal spot with the FWHM equal to 2.6 /spl mu/m/spl times/6.7 /spl mu/m is obtained. This new integrated optical disk pickup head can significantly reduce its size and weight as well as improve the transfer rate of optical data storage systems. The freespace micro-optical bench technology can be extended to many other micro-optics systems.