Bionic compound eye using microlens array with multi-focus and long focal depth

Abstract

This paper presents a bionic compound eye using microlens array with multi-focus and long focal length for improving a selected imagery quality. There are seven layers of microlens array designed in the bionic compound eye. These microlens array will focus on the same point composed a visual system. There are two parts in this study. The first part is the calculation of each layer's microlens array focus on the same surfaces, Then the light path can be simulated by the optic simulation software, ZEMAX. The second part is the bionic microlens array compound eye fabrication. The photoresist column array fabricated by lithography and followed by the thermal reflow can form the microlens array. Elastic PDMS was used as a plastic replicate after sputtering. Then the 3D printer was used to print the PDMS model which was concave curved surface as a hemispherical lens mold and attached the replicated microlens array on the openings. The microlens array can be formed the curvature compound eye microlens array because of the negative pressure resulted in the hemisphere. A curvature with microlens array for the bionic compound eye can be fabricated. The ZEMAX software can be used to simulate the light path with a long focal length for the compound eye.