We report on polydimethlysiloxane (PDMS) microlenses and microlens arrays on flat and curved substrates fabricated via a relatively simple process combining liquid-phase photopolymerization and a single molding step. The mold for the formation of the PDMS lenses is fabricated by photopolymerizing a polyacrylamide (PAAm) pre-hydrogel. The shrinkage of PAAm after its polymerization forms concave lenses. The lenses are then transferred to PDMS by a single step molding to form PDMS microlens array on a flat substrate. The PAAm concave lenses are also transferred to PDMS and another flexible polymer, Solaris, to realize artificial compound eyes. The resultant microlenses and microlens arrays possess good uniformity and optical properties. The focal length of the lenses is inversely proportional to the shrinkage time. The microlens mold can also be rehydrated to change the focal length of the ultimate PDMS microlenses. The spherical aberration is 2.85 μm and the surface roughness is on the order of 204 nm. The microlenses can resolve 10.10 line pairs per mm (lp/mm) and have an f-number range between f/2.9 and f/56.5. For the compound eye, the field of view is 113°.

We present a wide-angle, broad-spectrum cylindrical lens based on reflections from an array of three-dimensional, high-aspect-ratio micro-mirrors fabricated on a cylindrical elastomeric substrate, functionally inspired by natural reflecting superposition compound eyes. Our device can perform one-dimensional focusing and beam-shaping comparable to conventional refraction-based cylindrical lenses, while avoiding chromatic aberration. The focal length of our cylindrical lens is 1.035 mm, suitable for micro-optical systems. Moreover, it demonstrates a wide field of view of 152° without distortion, as well as modest spherical aberrations. Our work could be applied to diverse applications including laser diode collimation, barcode scanning, holography, digital projection display, microlens arrays, and optical microscopy.