Method of manufacturing lens array

• US 5,694,246 A
• Filed: 06/06/1995
• Issued: 12/02/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Inventors: Aoyama, Shigeru, Shinohara, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Sugarman, Scott J.
• Application Number:
  US08/471,187
• Time in Patent Office: 910 Days
• Field of Search: 359/618, 359/619, 359/622, 359/623
• US Class Current: 359/619
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2791/001 Shaping in several steps
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 33/3842 Manufacturing moulds, e.g. shaping the mould surface by machining
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/00 Shaping by coating a mould, core or other substrate, i.e. by depositing material and stripping-off the shaped article; Apparatus therefor with compacting pressure B29C43/00 ; by lay-up of reinforcement of substantial or continuous length B29C70/30
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/20 incorporating preformed parts or layers, e.g. moulding inserts or for coating articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00278 Lenticular sheets B29D11/00269 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0018 Reflow, i.e. characterized by the step of melting microstructures to form curved surfaces, e.g. manufacturing of moulds and surfaces for transfer etching
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0031 Replication or moulding, e.g. hot embossing, UV-casting, injection moulding
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/005 arranged along a single direction only, e.g. lenticular sheets G02B3/0043 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0056 arranged along two different directions in a plane, e.g. honeycomb arrangement of lenses G02B3/0043 takes precedence; miniaturised objectives for electronic devices employing wafer level optics G02B13/0085
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0062 Stacked lens arrays, i.e. refractive surfaces arranged in at least two planes, without structurally separate optical elements in-between

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a lens array according to the invention is presented wherein a first array of first lens-base elements is formed on a substrate with spacing therebetween. The first lens-base elements are heated so that the first lens-base elements melt to form first lenses having round surfaces. A separation layer is formed to cover the first lenses and the substrate. A second array of second lens-base elements is formed, the second lens-base elements being placed on a region where the first lenses are not formed so as to partly overlap with the first lenses. The second lens-base elements are also heated so that the second lens-base elements melt to form second lenses having round surfaces. The lens array comprises the substrate and the first and second lenses.

Claims

1. A lens array manufactured by the method comprising the steps of:

forming a first array of first lens-base elements on one side of a substrate with spacing therebetween;

heating the first lens-base elements so that the first lens-base elements melt to form first lenses on the one side of the substrate;

covering the first lenses and the substrate with a first separation layer;

forming a second array of second lens-base elements in a region on the one side of the substrate where the first lenses are not formed so as to partly overlap with the first lenses; and

heating the second lens-base elements so that the second lens-elements melt to form second lenses substantially adjacent to the first lenses on the one side of the substrate.

2. A lens array manufactured by the method comprising the steps of:

forming a first array of first lens-base elements on one side of a substrate with spacing therebetween;

heating the first lens-base elements so that the first lens-base elements melt to form first lenses on the one side of the substrate;

forming a second array of second lens-base elements with a material different from that of the first lens-base elements in a region on the one side of the substrate where the first lenses are not formed so as to partly overlap with the first lenses; and

heating the second lens-base elements so that the second lens-base elements melt to form second lenses substantially adjacent to the first lenses on the one side of the substrate.

3. A lens array manufactured by the method comprising the steps of:

forming a first array of first lens-base elements on one side of a substrate with spacing therebetween;

heating the first lens-base elements so that the first lens-base elements melt to form first lenses in a lens array on the one side of the substrate;

making a replica of the lens array having the first lenses;

forming a second array of second lens-base elements on the replica in a region on one side of the replica where first lens portions of the replica are not formed so as to partly overlap with the first lens portions of the replica; and

heating the second lens-base elements so that the second lens-elements melt to form second lenses substantially adjacent to the first lens portions on the one side of the replica.

4. A lens array manufactured by the method comprising the steps of:

forming an array of lens-base elements on one side of a substrate with spacing therebetween;

heating the lens-base elements so that the lens-base elements melt to form lenses on the one side of the substrate; and

repeating the steps of forming and heating the lens-base elements a second time such that additional lens-base elements and additional lenses are formed on the one side of the substrate in a region where the lenses are not formed so as to be substantially adjacent to and to partly overlap with the lenses formed on the one side of the substrate.

5. A lens array manufactured by the method comprising the steps of:

forming a first array of first lens-base elements on one side of a substrate with spacing therebetween;

heating the first lens-base elements so that the first lens-base elements melt to form first lenses on the one side of the substrate;

forming a second array of second lens-base elements in a place on the one side of the substrate lacking the first lenses so as to partly overlap with the first lenses;

heating the second lens-base elements so that the second lens-base elements melt to form second lenses on the one side of the substrate; and

repeating the steps of forming and heating the second lens-base elements, if necessary.

6. A lens array manufactured by the method comprising the steps of:

forming a first array of first lens-base elements on one side of a substrate with spacing therebetween;

heating the first lens-base elements so that the first lens-base elements melt to form first lenses on the one side of the substrate;

forming a second array of second lens-base elements in a place on the one side of the substrate lacking the first lenses so as to partly overlap with the first lenses;

heating the second lens-base elements so that the second lens-base elements melt to form second lenses on the one side of the substrate;

repeating the steps of forming and heating the second lens-base elements, if necessary, thereby making a first lens array on the one side of the substrate;

accumulating a stamper material on said first lens array serving as a master plate to form a stamper;

peeling the stamper from the master plate;

filling the stamper with a molten resin;

solidifying the resin in the stamper; and

removing the stamper to obtain a second lens array made of the resin.

7. A lens array comprising:

a substrate;

a first array of first lenses arranged on one side of said substrate with spacing portions therebetween on the one side of said substrate; and

a second array of second lenses disposed on the spacing portions of the one side of said substrate between the first lenses, the second lenses partly overlapping with the adjacent first lenses on the one side of said substrate.

8. The lens array according to claim 7 further comprising:

a third array of third lenses disposed on spacing portions lacking the first lenses and the second lenses on the one side of said substrate, the third lenses partly overlapping with the adjacent first and second lenses on the one side of said substrate.

9. The lens array according to claim 7 wherein the lens array is a two-dimensional lens array.

10. The lens array according to claim 7 wherein the lens array is a one-dimensional lens array.

11. An imaging apparatus with use of the lens array as defined in claim 7 comprising:

an imaging device having a plurality of photo-sensitive elements; and

the lens array disposed so as to face the imaging device, each lens of the lens array corresponding to each photo-sensitive elements.

12. A display apparatus of dot-matrix type with use of the lens array as defined in claim 7 comprising:

a display device of dot-matrix type having an array of display elements; and

the lens array disposed so as to face the display device, each lens of the lens array corresponding to each display element.

13. An image forming device including the lens array as defined in claim 7.

14. An optical information processing apparatus with use of the lens array as defined in claim 7 comprising:

a plurality of optical modulating elements; and

the lens array the lenses of which correspond to the optical modulating elements.

15. An optical coupling device with use of the lens array as defined in claim 7 comprising:

a plurality of light input/output portions; and

the lens array the lenses of which correspond to the light input/output portions.

16. The lens array according to claim 7, wherein the adjacent first and second lenses are substantially formed in a plane, said lenses substantially covering said substrate on the one side of said substrate and having round surface portions which are exposed to incident light, wherein the light incident on said plane is refracted on said round surface portions.

17. The lens array according to claim 8, wherein the adjacent first, second, and third lenses are substantially formed in a plane, said lenses substantially covering said substrate on the one side of said substrate and having round surface portions which are exposed to incident light, wherein the light incident on said plane is refracted on said round surface portions.