Compact microoptical imaging system (ultra-thin microscope)

Ambition

Digital close-up imaging of extended object fields with high resolution using a compact optical system setup.

 

Characteristics

  • Optical setup using three double-sided microlensarray modules on a digital image sensor
  • Multichannel imaging with partial image stitching
  • Aspherical and achromatic lenslets
  • Unity magnification
  • Object-to-image distance 5.3 mm
  • Numerical aperture 0.1
  • Object field size 36 mm x 24 mm (scalable with image sensor size)
  • Resolution up to 4 μm

 

Application

  • Inspection of surfaces, print materials
  • Bio-/ medical imaging
  • Document analysis
  • Digitalization of photographic film material

 

Technology

  • Wafer-scale process on thin glass substrates
  • Master generation using lithography and resist reflow
  • Proportional transfer by dry etching (RIE, ICP) for aspherical lenslets
  • Double-sided, aligned UV-molding
  • UV-structuring of absorbing polymer diaphragm arrays
  • Module assembly using alignment marks
  • AR-coating of surfaces
  • Dicing with chip saw