Fabrication of micrometer-size solid immersion lens: Composition dependence of wettability of substrate by glass melt

Abstract Fine glass particles Na2O–CaO–B2O3–SiO2 are heated on glassy-carbon substrate to obtain micrometer-size solid immersion lenses (μ-SILs), and the composition dependence of the wetting property between glass melt and glassy-carbon substrate is investigated. The obtained glass particles have the super-spherical shapes with smooth surfaces. The contact angles of the particles are ranging from 125° to 147° depending on the glass composition, and there are the compositions at which the shape of the glass satisfies the optical condition of μ-SIL, showing the correlation between the contact angle and the internal structure of the glass. These results revealed that the super-spherical shape of μ-SIL can be controlled by the glass composition through the wetting property.