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Highly uniform manufacturing method for large-area microlens arrays

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Abstract

The microlens array is a key microstructure component in imaging systems, such as in light field cameras. A resolution of the light field camera can facilitate the use of a small-area microlens array. However, fabricating a large-area microlens array with a highly accurate and consistent surface finish is still difficult and high-cost. A low-cost manufacturing method is proposed in this study, where the mould core of the microlens array is fabricated with high precision and high uniformity by cylindrical ultra-precision diamond turning. The proposed tool path strategy is employed to achieve superior surface quality and avoid the dynamic vibration of an unsmooth path. Light field camera prototypes are developed using a commercial DSLR camera with a fabricated microlens array. The successful performance of the prototypes confirms that the proposed manufacturing method satisfies the application demands of large-area microlens arrays.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their sincere thanks to Mr. Cheuk Ming Wong, Mr. Jon Wong and Mr. Tsz Hin Fan of the Advanced Optics Manufacturing Centre, Hong Kong for the preparation of experiments. The authors also appreciate the financial support of the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (No. ITS/338/12).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Precision Measuring Technology and Instruments, Centre of MicroNano Manufacturing Technology-MNMT, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Xiaodong Zhang, Zexiao Li, Linlin Zhu & Fengzhou Fang

  2. Advanced Optics Manufacturing Centre, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

    Xiaodong Zhang, Lihua Li, Changyuen Chan & Wingbun Lee

Authors
  1. Xiaodong Zhang
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  2. Lihua Li
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  3. Zexiao Li
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  4. Changyuen Chan
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  5. Linlin Zhu
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  6. Wingbun Lee
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  7. Fengzhou Fang
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Correspondence to Lihua Li.

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Zhang, X., Li, L., Li, Z. et al. Highly uniform manufacturing method for large-area microlens arrays. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 95, 99–108 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-1107-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-1107-2

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