Analysis and optimization of the Glass pattern realized by a microlens array.

Abstract

It is well known that the superposition of two identical random dot patterns may give rise to a particular form of moiré effect known as a Glass pattern. By integrating a microlens array and a micropattern array and applying a small geometrical transformation, it is possible to show the parallactic or the orthoparallactic motion effect when varying the viewing angle. In this paper, we study the effect of the structural parameters of a Glass pattern optical system on its image quality. The position of each elemental pattern in the micropattern array is derived based on a revised model that considers the finite observation distance. The image quality is evaluated by the ray analysis on the observation plane and the reconstructed image plane. Rays from different pixels of the micropattern array are evaluated by the spot size. The depth of the Glass pattern in image space is also analyzed. In addition, a Glass pattern optical system is simulated and optimized by ZEMAX software. An optimal result is obtained that validates the theoretical analysis. Our study can find potential application for designing Glass pattern optical systems or optimization of those imaging systems based on microlens arrays.