Mechanism of enzyme-etching dichromated gelatin and swelling of gelatin

Although dichromated gelatin (DCG) has a long history of photographic applications, the mechanisms of enzyme-etching gelatin and swelling effect have still not been satisfactorily explained. In this paper, we discuss the mechanism of DCG cross-linking and the swelling of gelatin in details. A refractive microlens array has been successfully fabricated by developing ammonium dichromated gelatin (ADG) in enzyme solution, the microlens' diameter is 19mum, the height is 8 mum, and the focal height is 50 mum, the optimum technique parameters of this experiment process are presented and results are presented and evaluated by profile meter and interference microscope. This fabrication process shows the great potential for fabricating microlens array and micro-optics element (MOE) with DCG.