Analysis of optical properties in injection-molded

and compression-molded optical lenses

Chung Yen Wang and Pei Jen Wang*

Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, 101,
Sec. 2, Guangfu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
*Corresponding author: pjwang@pme.nthu.edu.tw

Received 13 January 2014; revised 4 March 2014; accepted 5 March 2014;

posted 10 March 2014 (Doc. ID 204260); published 10 April 2014

Numerical mold-flow simulations and experimental measurements for injection-molded lenses have
been investigated in form accuracy on a two-cavity mold with various process conditions. First, form
profiles of the molded lenses have been measured together with the corresponding simulated mold-
temperature distribution and displacement distribution of the lens in the z direction. A flow-through
type layout of cooling channels has been devised for balance of mold-temperature distribution in mold
cavities with various parametric distances for assessments in uniformity of temperature distribution.
Finally, a compression-molding process is proposed for the post-process of birefringence relaxation as
well as adequate form accuracy of lenses. In conclusion, optimization of process parameters to achieve
good form accuracy in a multicavity mold with symmetric geometry but nonuniform cooling conditions is
difficult. A good design of cooling channels plus optimized process conditions could provide uniform
mold-temperature distribution so that molded lenses of good quality would be possible. Then, the
profile deviation of lenses could be further compensated by profile geometry corrections. In conclusion,
the post-compression-molding process could make birefringence-free plastic lenses with good form
accuracy. © 2014 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: (220.0220) Optical design and fabrication; (230.0230) Optical devices; (080.0080)
Geometric optics.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/AO.53.002523

1. Introduction always a challenge to the optics industry. Since the

Optical theory has progressed for more than five
centuries since Kepler published his papers on
geometric optics. During the Middle Ages, scientists
invented optical instruments to satisfy research
interests in observation of micro-organisms and
the mysterious universe. With the advent of optical
engineering in the last decade, many consumer
products based on optical image technology have
appeared in our daily life. Inside the consumer prod-
ucts, lenses are among the essential components for
capture or display of images. Because of the mass
production in consumer products, cost reduction is
1559-128X/14/112523-09$15.00/0
© 2014 Optical Society of America
materials of lenses are either glass or plastics, glass
lenses are made by grinding and polishing, whereas
plastic lenses are made by injection molding or
compression molding. Although glass lenses exhibit
optical performances better than plastic lenses, it is
typically laborious to manufacture glass lenses due
to time-consuming grinding and polishing processes.
On the contrary, the injection-molding process is
known for the most effective mass-production
method to date. However, the complex thermal-
mechanical process in a short time has given the
molded lenses various quality problems. From the
literature [1–3], we know the image qualities of
injection-molded lenses are mainly affected by two
physical optics phenomena, namely residual bire-
fringence and geometric surface deviations.

10 April 2014 / Vol. 53, No. 11 / APPLIED OPTICS 2523

 Based upon photoelasticity theory, the residual bi-
refringence of isotropic optical polymers is described
as linear dependence between residual stresses and
refractive indices of materials as follows [4]:
n2 − n1
cσ 1 − σ 2 ;
n3 − n2
cσ 2 − σ 3 ;
n1 − n3
cσ 3 − σ 1 ;
where n1 , n2 , and n3 are the refractive indices of
polymers associated with the principal stress
directions; σ 1 , σ 2 , and σ 3 are the principal residual
stresses at the point of interest; and c is the stress
optic coefficient. In injection-molded lenses, residual
birefringence is attributed to two physical mecha-
nisms, namely flow-induced and thermal-induced
residual birefringence [5–7]. During the injection-
molding process, polymer resins are heated to molten
state, injected into the cavity under pressure in the
filling phase, packed to compensate shrinkage due
to cooling in the packing phase, and then cooled down
in the cooling phase. Finally, the moldings are ejected
into the ambient environment. In the filling and pack-
ing phases, shear stresses occur and molecules are
frozen, resulting in flow-induced residual birefrin-
gence. Later, the thermal-induced residual bire-
fringence is attributed to the frozen stresses from
nonuniform cooling in the packing and cooling phases.
Geometric surface deviations are a major quality
issue in all optical lenses, especially in injection-
molded lenses. In the past two decades, many
researchers have focused on the analysis of warpage
behaviors between thin-shell parts and injection-
molding process parameters [8–13]. The major
process parameters are packing pressure, melt
temperature, and mold temperature. High packing
pressure, low melt temperature, and low mold
temperature tend to largely reduce parts warpage.
However, the results would be cumbersome to be ex-
ercised on the shop floor because process-window
limits would not allow such processing conditions.
It should be noted that the effects of cooling design
on the warpage have not comprehensively studied
in the literature. Since the design of the cooling chan-
nel affects the temperature gradient and uniformity
of mold cavities, it is very interesting to note that
residual birefringence could be relaxed down to
10% through the temperature annealing process
[2]. Furthermore, lenses with residual stresses would
degrade the optical quality even after six months.
Hence, stress relaxation is a necessary procedure
for injection-molded lenses to circumvent quality
variations versus time [3].
The compression-molding process has been devel-
oped for more than three decades with the product
characteristics in low residual stresses compared
to the injection-molding process [14]. Therefore, com-
pression molding has great potential for post-process
of injection-molded lenses to relax most residual
stresses. In recent years, compression molding has
2524 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 53, No. 11 / 10 April 2014
been widely used for manufacture of small aspheric
glass lenses with satisfactory qualities [15–17]. It is
reported that residual stresses are low at high mold
temperature in compression-molded lenses, whereas
high form accuracy can be achieved at low mold
temperature and low cooling rate [18].
In this study, a two-cavity experimental mold, with
various topographic layouts in cooling channels, is
(1) adopted for analysis of the form accuracy in injec-
tion-molded lenses based on settings of mold and
melt temperature verified by experimental data.
Three-dimensional (3D) mold-flow simulations are
employed for observation of the mold-temperature
distribution and part-displacement distribution in
the z axis. To achieve uniform temperature distribu-
tion in each cavity, a flow-through layout type of cool-
ing channels is selected with parameterization
among the distance to the runner, the diameter of
the cavity, and the diameter of the cooling channel.
Based upon systematic methods to assess process
parameters on optical qualities [2], injection-molded
lenses with optimized process parameters in regular
form accuracy are molded into preforms. A compre-
hensive study of compression-molded lenses is
conducted with design of experiment (DOE) methods
based on the Taguchi scheme for molding of birefrin-
gence-free lenses.
2. Experimental Apparatus
A. Materials of Lenses
This study uses cycle olefin polymer (COP) in optics
grade for moldings of lenses; the trade name is
ZEONEX 480R, produced by Zeon Corp., Japan.
The main advantages of ZEONEX are high transpar-
ency, high heat resistance, low water absorption, low
birefringence, and chemical resistance.
B. Design of Mold
A two-cavity injection mold with various layouts in
the cooling channel is designed to study the effects
of the cooling channel with basic schematics shown
in Fig. 1. The runners and cavities are symmetric
at the sprue, but the cooling channels are arranged
around each cavity differently. The mold cavities
are plano–convex shape with diameter of 25 mm, cur-
vature radius of 70 mm, and maximum thickness of
1.125 mm. As the conventional lens design, a 3.5 mm
rib with 0.8 mm thickness is adopted for the lens
holding fixture outside the lens periphery. Cavity
Fig. 1. Schematic drawing of mold geometry.

Fig. 2. Schematic structure drawing and photo picture of the
in-house built compression-molding machine.
lens1 is close to the inlet and outlet of the cooling
channel; hence the temperature gradient would be
large due to the differential temperature between in-
let and outlet ports. Cavity lens2 is at the opposite
side close to the cooling channels. The temperature
gradient is small and in better uniformity.
C. Compression-Molding Machine
An in-house built compression-molding machine is
equipped with instruments for experiments of lens
molding. Figure 2 shows the structural schematics
and photo picture of the compression-molding ma-
chine not showing the instrument cabinet. The basic
mechanical specifications are maximum compression
forces at 2.5 kN, maximum die temperature below
250°C, and die-position resolution at 10 μm. Figure 3
shows a schematic plot of the die temperature during
a complete cycle with stage A being a preform loaded
in the die and then compressed before heating, stage
B being a compressed preform at constant die tem-
perature and load until cooling, and stage C being
a slowly cooled die until the releasing temperature
is reached. All the captioned parameters in the figure
are assumed to be pertinent process parameters
initially before the design of experiment data is
analyzed. In the experimental investigation, all
Fig. 3. Schematic plot of die temperature history in the initial
compression cycle divided into stages A, B, and C.
Fig. 4. Plots of measured temperature, load forces, and die
position from a complete experimental cycle of a test run.
measured data are recorded for process parameter
screening as shown in Fig. 4, where the die temper-
ature, load forces, and die position are plotted in dif-
ferent color lines in a complete compression-molding
cycle from a test run.
3. Form Accuracy Analysis
In the injection-molding process, the warpage of
parts is mainly affected by packing pressure, melt
temperature, and mold temperature [8–13]. To ana-
lyze the effects of the layouts of cooling channels,
melt temperature and mold temperature are specifi-
cally chosen for key factors because of the cooling
effects in the mold-temperature distribution. Due
to the asymmetric layouts of the cooling channels,
each cavity in the mold would experience different
thermal-mechanical history and make the lenses
show different form profiles. To further verify the
above-mentioned behaviors, an instrument, called
Ultra Accuracy 3-D Profilometer (UA3P), and made
by Panasonic Corp. Japan, has been employed for the
form accuracy measurements of molded lenses along
the gate-wise and transverse directions.
As a further step to assess lens quality under
uniform cooling in cavities, a commercial mold-flow
analysis program, SigmaSoft, copyrighted by
SIGMA Engineering GmbH in Aachen, Germany,
has been chosen for 3D simulation of complete
injection-molding processes with predictions of
the temperature distribution inside the mold and
the displacement distribution in the z axis when
lenses are ejected to the ambient environment.
Finally, rearrangement of cooling channels is
conducted for uniform temperature distribution
inside each cavity of the mold.
A. Injection-Molding Experiments
In order to analyze the effects of melt and mold tem-
perature on lens profile deviations, two single-factor
experiments set with three levels are chosen with
the settings of parameters shown in Tables 1 and
2. Five random samples carefully cut at the gate edge
several days after ejection from the mold are taken
for each setting, and measured by UA3P. Tables 3
10 April 2014 / Vol. 53, No. 11 / APPLIED OPTICS 2525
 Table 1. Experimental Settings with Various Melt Temperatures Table 3. Measured Form Accuracy with Various Melt Temperatures

Melt Mold Injection Packing Cooling Measurement [μm]

Temperature Temperature Speed Pressure Time
Gate-wise Transverse
[°C] [°C] [mm/s] [Mpa] [s]
Melt Temperature [°C] P-V RMS P-V RMS
247.5
275.0 120.0 22.0 134.89 54.0 247.5 Lens1 11.876 3.295 13.340 3.745
280.0 Lens2 13.026 3.569 13.184 3.726
275.0 Lens1 12.325 3.674 14.681 4.195
Lens2 13.910 3.946 13.014 3.911
280.0 Lens1 18.302 5.099 18.335 5.183
and 4 show the average result of form accuracy given
Lens2 14.819 4.179 13.618 4.103
in peak-to-valley (P-V) and RMS values. For lenses at
Lens1, form accuracy becomes worse along with the
increase of melt temperature and decrease of mold
temperature. And form accuracy along the gate-wise Table 4. Measured Form Accuracy with Various Mold Temperatures
direction is more sensitive to melt temperature than
that along the transverse direction. The best form ac- Measurements [μm]
curacy of lenses at Lens1 is low melt temperature Gate-wise Transverse
when the mold temperature is set at 132°C. For
Mold Temperature [°C] P-V RMS P-V RMS
lenses at Lens2, an increase in melt temperature
deteriorates the form accuracy along the gate-wise 108 Lens1 17.337 4.764 17.106 4.753
direction but does not affect that along the trans- Lens2 17.614 5.073 16.348 4.755
verse direction. Form accuracy with mold tempera- 120 Lens1 12.325 3.674 14.681 4.195
Lens2 13.910 3.946 13.014 3.911
ture set at 120°C is better than that from 108 and
132 Lens1 1.9810 0.421 1.539 0.386
132°C, respectively. Low melt temperature and mold Lens2 17.037 4.800 17.778 5.079
temperature at 120°C would improve the form
accuracy of lenses at Lens2.
Therefore, the form accuracy of lenses at Lens1 is
best at melt temperature 275°C and mold tempera- rate of heat transfer by convection, the heat transfer
ture 132°C, whereas the form accuracy of lenses at coefficient is defined as follows [19]:
Lens2 is best at melt temperature 247.5°C and mold
temperature 120°C. It should be noted that Lens1 Q
gives superior form accuracy to other conditions at
hc ΔT; (2)
A
mold temperature 132°C in Table 4. The rationale
is the optimal process parameters happen to be where Q is the heat, A is the surface area of the inter-
the best molding conditions for the Lens1 cavity even face, ΔT is the temperature difference between two
though symmetry is considered in the mold design. media, and hc is the heat transfer coefficient. Energy
This suggests that the form accuracy of the present balance should be preserved during heat transfer. At
two-cavity mold design is hard to improve by every time step of simulation, heat carried by the
adjusting parameters due to the nonuniform cavity polymeric melt and heat dissipated from the mold
temperature resulting from the poor layout of cooling to the surrounding medium is calculated based on
channels. thermal equilibrium. Figure 5 shows the simulated
B. Verifications by Mold-Flow Simulations temperature distributions of the core side when
A commercial mold-flow simulation program
SigmaSoft has been chosen for simulating thermal-
mechanical history in continuous cycles of the
injection-molding process including preheat and
external cooling effects. In the injection-molding
process, heat is transferred from the polymeric melt
to the cooling channels by convection, and the heat of
the mold is dissipated into the ambient environment
through conduction and convection. To calculate the

Table 2. Experimental Settings with Various Mold Temperatures

Melt Mold Injection Packing Cooling

Temperature Temperature Speed Pressure Time
[°C] [°C] [mm/s] [Mpa] [s]
108.0
275.0 120.0 22.0 134.89 54.0
Fig. 5. Contour plots for mold surface temperature distribution
132.0
at the end of the cooling stage.

2526 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 53, No. 11 / 10 April 2014

 accuracy of lenses both at Lens1 and Lens2. In order
to achieve uniform temperature distribution in each

Fig. 6. Predicted displacement distribution in z direction of

lenses along gate-wise direction with gate at left-hand side. Upper,
Lens1; lower, Lens2.

Fig. 7. Same as in Fig. 6 except along the transverse direction.

Upper, Lens1; lower, Lens2.

the melt temperature is at 275°C together with the

mold temperature at 120°C. The temperature differ-
ence between the two cavities is about 1.0°C with sig-
nificant difference in temperature contour pattern. It
is noted that the contour is longitudinal symmetric
due to the temperature of the cooling channel only
being able to be set at a constant value in simulation.
On the contrary, the temperature difference between
the inlet and outlet ports is 1 to 2°C from shop floor
experiences. Based upon the layout of cooling chan-
nels, we note that the temperature distribution at
Lens1 would be less uniform than that at Lens2
because the Lens1 cavity is close to the inlet and out-
let ports, which exhibit large temperature difference.
Figures 6 and 7 show the predicted distribution of
displacement in the z axis of lenses after being cooled
to ambient temperature. The color-shaded contours
indicate that the displacement along the gate-wise
direction is asymmetric, whereas the displacement
along the transverse direction is symmetric. The
displacement along the gate-wise direction is large
because the temperature is relatively higher as
shown in Fig. 5. It is evident that temperature
distribution plays an important role in the form

Fig. 9. Temperature contour plots showing distribution of mold

surface temperature in new layout of cooling channels: (a) original
Fig. 8. Proposed layout of cooling channels in symmetry. distance, (b) N
5, (c) N
7.5, and (d) N
10.

10 April 2014 / Vol. 53, No. 11 / APPLIED OPTICS 2527

 Fig. 11. Pertinent dimensions of the injection-molded perform.

Birefringence-free lenses are not available in the

Fig. 10. Predicted displacement distribution in z direction along injection-molding process by simply adjusting process
gate-wise direction corresponding to conditions in Fig. 9: (a) origi- parameters or post-process annealing. Therefore, a
nal distance, (b) N
5, (c) N
7.5, and (d) N
10.
compression-molding process is proposed to be a
post-process of injection-molded preforms for birefrin-
cavity, a new layout of cooling channels is proposed gence-free with acceptable form accuracy. First, the
with the structural schematics shown in Fig. 8. To preforms are molded by optimized parameters shown
make the design parameter sensible for analysis, in Table 5 at the Lens2 cavity due to asymmetric
we define the layout of cooling channels as follows: cooling effects in the Lens1 cavity. Figure 11 shows
the pertinent dimensions of injection-molded pre-
L
N · D∕d; N
1; 2; 3; …; (3) forms. A circular polariscope is adopted for measure-
ment of residual birefringence based on the principle
where L is the channel distance, D is the diameter of of photelasticity as shown in Fig. 12 [4]. The fringed
the lens at 32 mm, and d is the diameter of the cool- pattern of a sample preform is shown in Fig. 13. In our
ing channel at 10 mm. Starting from the initial dis- previous study [18], residual birefringence decreases
tance at 14 mm, three settings of N namely 5, 7.5, with increase in die temperature, but form accuracy is
and 10, are chosen for comparisons of the tempera- improved by decrease in die temperature with slow
ture distribution and displacement in the z direction. cooling rate. Therefore, a two-stage cooling process
Figure 9 shows the temperature distribution at the —slow cooling above the reference temperature and
end of the cycle with notable results for the temper-
ature distribution of the cavity being uniform at
N
10. However, based upon the predicted displace-
ment distribution shown in Fig. 10, the displacement
distribution at N
5 is more symmetric than those
from the other two cases. The rationale is that the
shrinkage in the longitudinal direction is higher than
that in the transverse direction in amorphous poly-
mers so that shrinkage would increase along a gate-
wise path because of the effects due to insufficient
packing pressure [20]. Therefore, the predicted dis-
placement with uniform temperature distribution
in cavities would still be asymmetric, and a nonuni-
form temperature distribution may contribute to Fig. 12. Schematic illustration of photoelasticity measure-
more displacement in the z direction. ments [4].

4. Compression Molding
In the study of injection-molded lenses, form accuracy
and residual birefringence have been reported in de-
tail elsewhere [2]. Based upon the analysis of residual
birefringence, flow-induced birefringence contributes
more than 90% in total residual birefringence.

Table 5. Optimized Parameter Settings for Form Accuracy

Melt temperature [°C] 275

Mold temperature [°C] 120
Injection speed [mm/sec] 32 22 24 30
Screw position [mm] 16 14 12 4 3
Packing pressure [kg∕cm2 ] 122.63 98.10 56.90
Packing time [sec] 3.5 4 15
Fig. 13. Fringed pattern of preform with form accuracy in P-V
Cooling time [sec] 60
value at 15.31 μm, and RMS value at 3.73 μm.

2528 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 53, No. 11 / 10 April 2014

then fast cooling to ambient—is employed for short
cycle time and better form accuracy. To relax residual
birefringence and maintain good form accuracy, die
temperature and reference temperature play an
important role in the process. Furthermore, setting
of load forces in the cooling phase is critical in the
compression-molding machine because high load
forces at high die temperature result in high melt flow
to generate molecule orientation. Based on Taguchi
method, seven main factors including load forces,
compression time, cooling load forces, control mode,
first switch point of temperature, second switch point
of temperature, and die temperature are selected for
Fig. 14. Results of measured residual birefringence: (a) L1,
(b) L2, (c) L3, (d) L4, (e) L5, (f) L6, (g) L7, and (h) L8.
two-level settings and the corresponding orthogonal
array and settings of control factors are shown in Ta-
bles 6 and 7. In the above process parameters, the first
switch point of temperature sets the temperature for
reduced cooling load to change to second load, and the
second switch point of temperature sets the temper-
ature to change to third load and also sets the cooling
rate to fast cooling, the same as the reference temper-
ature. The control mode is the machine setting in the
cooling phase. Force control is used to control the load
as the setting of constant cooling load or reduced cool-
ing load, and position and force control are used to
make the die fixed first and then set to force control
when the load is lowered to the third cooling load.
The form accuracy of all molded lenses is measured
by UA3P and averaged by three samples as shown
in Table 6, and Fig. 14 shows the measured residual
birefringence. Based on the “smaller-the-better” char-
acteristics defined as follows [21,22]:

X 
1 n 2
SNRSTB
−10 log y ; (4)
n i
1 i
where n is the number of measurements during each
run, and yi is the P-V value of each run. According to
the SNR results for residual birefringence and form
accuracy shown in Figs. 15 and 16, birefringence is
Fig. 15. Results of SNR analysis in residual birefringence.
Fig. 16. Results of SNR analysis in form accuracy.
10 April 2014 / Vol. 53, No. 11 / APPLIED OPTICS 2529
 Table 6. L8 Array in Taguchi Method

Ave. Exp.
Control Factors Results [μm]
A B C D E F G P-V RMS
L1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4.93 1.28
L2 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 16.32 4.48
L3 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 16.96 4.66
L4 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 9.13 2.57
L5 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 4.00 0.85
L6 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 20.99 5.76 Fig. 17. Patterns of optimized results based on residual birefrin-
L7 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 20.82 5.81 gence and form accuracy.
L8 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 2.39 0.47

5. Summary
Table 7. Control Factors with Settings for DOE Analysis In this paper, the effects of layout in cooling channels,
melt temperature, and mold temperature on the
Factor Process Parameter Unit Value
form accuracy of injection-molded lenses have been
A Compression load [kg] Level 1 30 investigated both in experiments and in numerical
Level 2 50 simulations. High melt temperature degrades the
B Compression time [sec] Level 1 5 form accuracy with dominant effects in the gate-wise
Level 2 10
direction but not in the transverse direction. The in-
C Cooling load [kg] Level 1 20 15 10
Level 2 20 20 20
fluence of the original layout in the cooling channels
D Control mode Level 1 Force control on the mold-temperature distribution in each cavity
Level 2 Position/force control is significant. Based on the analysis results, the form
E First switch point [°C] Level 1 150 accuracy of lenses at Lens1 is superior to that at
of temp. Level 2 160 Lens2 with mold temperature at 132°C. It is evident
F Second switch point [°C] Level 1 130 that optimization of process parameters for a multi-
of temp. Level 2 140 cavity mold with inappropriate layout of cooling
G Die temp. [°C] Level 1 180 channels is barely possible. To improve the layout
Level 2 195
of cooling channels, various design options in cavity
distance, the diameter of the lens, and the diameter
of the cooling channels are planned and assessed. As
Table 8. Optimized Parameter Settings a result, the case of N
10 gives uniform tempera-
Factor Process Parameter Unit Value ture distribution in cavities but asymmetric displace-
ment distribution in the gate-wise direction due to
A Compression load [kg] Level 2 50 insufficient packing effects. It is noted that the form
B Compression time [sec] Level 2 10
accuracy could be improved by profile compensation
C Cooling load [kg] Level 1 20 15 10
D Control mode Level 2 Position and
in practice. Finally, uniform temperature distribu-
force control tion in each cavity has been devised in this study
E First switch of temp. [°C] Level 1 150 to achieve better control of form accuracy.
F Second switch [°C] Level 1 130 As a further step to comprehend the residual stress
of temp. relaxation in molded lenses, the effects of process
G Die temp. [°C] Level 2 195 parameters on quality for compression-molded
lenses have been studied by the DOE method. Based
upon the analysis in the L8 design, die temperature
plays the dominant role for total residual birefrin-
only affected by the die temperature. and form accu-
gence. However, increase in die temperature tends
racy is affected mainly by the second switch point of
to degrade the form accuracy. Also from the analysis
temperature. The temperature setting for switching
results, the second switch point of temperature is a
to fast cooling plays an important role in form accu-
dominant factor for form accuracy with the condition
racy of compression-molded lenses because the
that it must be set below the glass transition temper-
molded lenses are cooled rapidly only in solidus state
ature because the molded lenses are cooled rapidly
as the temperature sets below the glass transition
only in solidus state as the temperature sets below
temperature. In order to relax residual birefringence,
the glass transition temperature. From the experi-
it is necessary to set high die temperature and the cor-
mental results, it is noted that birefringence-free
responding optimized process parameters as shown
lenses with acceptable form accuracy could be
in Table 8. The residual birefringence in the lenses
compression molded if the process parameters are
is fully relaxed as the fringed patterns shown in
optimized.
Fig. 17 with the homologous P-V value being 0.693
and 0.871 μm, and the RMS value being 0.127 and The authors thank the Instrument Technology
0.160 μm. Research Center, National Applied Research

2530 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 53, No. 11 / 10 April 2014

Laboratories, for the support of measurement instru-
ments, and the National Science Council in Taiwan,
Republic of China, for research funds under Contract
No. NSC100-2221-E007-039.
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