Open AccessFabrication of a light screen-aperture integrated flexible thin film micro-lens array for a biomimetic superposition compound eye
Author(s) -
Jungho Yi,
Changhoon Baek,
Jisung Kim,
Kyoin Koo,
Jong-Mo Seo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.442774
Subject(s) - optics , lens (geology) , materials science , microlens , fabrication , aperture (computer memory) , compound eye , superposition principle , focal length , transmittance , optoelectronics , computer science , engineering , physics , medicine , mechanical engineering , alternative medicine , pathology , quantum mechanics
Micro-lens array, an artificial compound eye vision system, provides a wide field of view and multi-perspective view. However, it has not been adopted as a computer vision application due to its limited visible range and high optical interference. In this research, a novel fabrication method for the flexible polydimethylsiloxane micro-lens array with a polytetrafluoroethylene light screen-aperture integrated layer was established by the simple protrusion method. The integrated layer provided longer visible range by one meter while maintaining the wide field-of-view of 100 °. The resulting images were used for obtaining depth information of a target as an example and for analyzing the rectangular and hexagonal arrangements of the micro-lenses for the future applications. With the improved visual range, wide field-of-view and flexibility, the fabricated micro-lens array can be applied to the small and curved CMOS image sensors in the future.