Double microlens arrays (MLAs) in series can be used to divide and superpose laser beam so as to achieve a homogenized spot. However, for laser beam homogenization with high coherence, the periodic lattice distribution in the homogenized spot will be generated due to the periodicity of the traditional MLA, which greatly reduces the uniformity of the homogenized spot. To solve this problem, a monolithic and highly integrated double-sided random microlens array (D-rMLA) is proposed for the purpose of achieving laser beam homogenization. The periodicity of the MLA is disturbed by the closely arranged microlens structures with random apertures. And the random speckle field is achieved to improve the uniformity of the homogenized spot by the superposition of the divided sub-beams. In addition, the double-sided exposure technique is proposed to prepare the rMLA on both sides of the same substrate with high precision alignment to form an integrated D-rMLA structure, which avoids the strict alignment problem in the installation process of traditional discrete MLAs. Then the laser beam homogenization experiments have been carried out by using the prepared D-rMLA structure. The laser beam homogenized spots of different wavelengths have been tested, including the wavelengths of 650 nm (R), 532 nm (G), and 405 nm (B). The experimental results show that the uniformity of the RGB homogenized spots is about 91%, 89%, and 90%. And the energy utilization rate is about 89%, 87%, 86%, respectively. Hence, the prepared structure has high laser beam homogenization ability and energy utilization rate, which is suitable for wide wavelength regime.

The miniaturized and integrated microlens array (MLA) can effectively achieve the beam homogenization, compactness and miniaturization of laser systems. When the high-coherence laser beam is homogenized by means of using the MLA, interference fringes will occur in the homogenized light spot due to the periodicity of the MLA, which seriously affects the uniformity of the homogenized light spot. To solve this problem, a novel random microlens array (rMLA) structure was proposed for the purpose of achieving beam homogenization. The coherence in the homogenization process is suppressed by means of breaking the periodicity of the MLA. The homogenized light spot with a high energy utilization is then obtained accordingly. In the fabrication process, a clever method of combining chemical etching with lithography technology is performed to fabricate a honeycomb rMLA and a rectangular rMLA. The experimental results show that the energy utilization rate of the two types of the rMLAs is about 90%, and the uniformity of the homogenized light spots generated by the honeycomb rMLA and the rectangular rMLA are more than 80% and 85%, respectively. Meanwhile, fully cost-effective fabrication is possible to be realized.

The artificial compound eye (ACE) structure is a new type of miniaturized, lightweight and intelligent imaging system. This paper has proposed to design a multi-spectral ACE structure to enable the structure to achieve multi-spectral information on the basis of imaging. The sub-eyes in the compound eye structure have been designed as diffractive beam splitting lenses with the same focal length of 20 mm, but with the different designed center wavelengths of 650 nm, 532 nm, and 445 nm, respectively. The proximity exposure lithography and reactive ion etching process were used to prepare the designed multi-spectral ACE structure, and the spectral splitting and multi-spectral imaging experiments were carried out to verify the multi-spectral imaging function of the structure without axial movement. Furthermore, the structure can be designed according to actual requirements, which can be applied to covert reconnaissance, camouflage identification, gas leakage or other fields.

In the conventional methods of multi-distance phase retrieval, the diffraction intensity patterns are recorded at equal intervals, which can induce slow convergence or stagnation in the subsequent reconstruction process. To solve this problem, a measurement method with unequal intervals is proposed in this paper. The interval spacings between adjacent measurement planes are decreased gradually. A large gap accelerates retrieval progress, and a short span helps to recover detailed information. The proposed approach makes full use of the available measured dataset and simultaneously generates variations in diversity amplitude, which is a crucial issue for the techniques of multi-image phase retrieval. Both computational simulations and experiments are performed. The results demonstrate that this method can improve the convergence speed by 2 to 3 times and enhance the quality of reconstruction results in comparison to that of the conventional methods.

Microlenses can be widely used in integrated micro-optical systems. However, in some special applications, such as light field imaging systems, multifocal microlens arrays (MLA) are expected to improve imaging resolution. For the fabrication of multifocal MLA, the traditional fabrication method is no longer applicable. To solve this problem, a fabrication method of multifocal MLA by a one step exposure process is proposed. Through the analyses and research of photoresist AZ9260, the nonlinear relationship between exposure dose and exposure depth is established. In the design of the mask, the mask pattern is corrected according to the nonlinear relationship to obtain the final mask. The continuous surface of the multifocal MLA is fabricated by the mask moving exposure. The experimental results show that the prepared multifocal MLA has high filling factor and surface fidelity. What is more, this method is simple and efficient to use in practical applications.

Microlens arrays (MLAs) are key optical components in laser beam homogenization. However, due to imperfect surface profiles resulting from microfabrication, the functionalities of MLAs in beam modulation could be compromised to some extent. In order to address this issue, the effects of surface profile mismatches between ideal and fabricated MLAs on beam homogenization were analyzed. Four types of surface profile errors of MLAs were modeled theoretically and numerical simulations were conducted to quantitatively estimate the effects of these profile errors on beam homogenization. In addition, experiments were conducted to validate the simulation results, revealing that profile errors leading to optical deviations located on the apex of microlenses affected beam homogenization less than deviations located further away from it. This study can provide references for the further applications of MLAs in beam homogenization.