Lens array

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A part of a microlens array in a hexagonal pattern

A microlens array is an optical device that has lots of tiny lenses. It can be used to make a light field display.

It is a flat piece of glass with tiny lenslets manufactured into the surface.

A microlens array can potentially be made out of a holographic optical element.

They can be made out of fused silica.[1]

A microlens array is used in Lytro's cameras.[2]

Each lens in the array has its own optical axis. However, when the array is viewed as a cohesive unit, the lenses form a shared main optical axis.[3]

Thorlabs advertises the sale of microlens arrays as of 2024.[4] Thorlabs has claimed that their lenslet arrays are formed using photolithographic techniques.[4]

The side with the roundings should generally face towards the source of the light. In a display, this means that the user's eye faces the flat side of the array, and the underlying display faces the side with the roundings.

Microlens arrays can be found in infra-red motion detectors.[5]

Manufacturing

Microlens arrays can be produced using microfabrication techniques, in particular photolithographic techniques.[6]

Microlens arrays have been manufactured at the wafer level by Lytro.[7]

Dimensions

Microlens arrays have been produced with a distance between microlenses of about 125 microns, which is 1/8 of a millimeter.[8][4]

To make a plenoptic microlens based display, each microlens should be at the minimum 200 pixels wide and 200 pixels long.

References