3D-printed eagle eye: Compound microlens system for foveated imaging.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Microfabrication
• Image Sensor Technology

Background:

• Traditional camera systems often face limitations in miniaturization and integration.
• Mimicking natural vision systems, particularly predator vision, offers a pathway to advanced imaging capabilities.
• 3D printing presents a novel approach for fabricating micro-optical components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly miniaturized camera system by directly 3D-printing multi-lens objectives onto a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor.
• To achieve a wide field of view with high angular resolution in a compact form factor.
• To explore the potential of this fabrication method for rapid design iterations and diverse applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing 3D printing to fabricate four distinct doublet lenses directly onto a CMOS image sensor.
• Arranging the printed lenses in a 2x2 configuration to achieve a combined field of view.
• Characterizing the optical performance, including field of view and angular resolution.

Main Results:

• A highly miniaturized camera system with a footprint below 300 μm x 300 μm and height <200 μm was successfully created.
• The system achieved a full field of view of 70°.
• An increasing angular resolution of up to 2 cycles/deg was observed in the center of the image.
• The fabrication process involved a single printing step without further assembly or alignment.

Conclusions:

• Direct 3D printing of multi-lens objectives onto image sensors is a viable method for creating highly miniaturized imaging systems.
• This approach enables rapid design and iteration of multi-aperture imaging systems.
• Potential applications span endoscopy, optical metrology, sensing, surveillance drones, and security.