Multiplexed lenses written onto a liquid crystal display for depth of focus increasing

In this work we propose different types of combination of several diffractive lenses written onto a single programmable liquid crystal display (LCD) in order to increase the depth of focus (DOF) of the imaging system. Each lens is designed in such a way that lenses with consecutive focal lengths provide amplitude distributions along the axis that overlap. The lenses are spatially multiplexed onto the LCD following different schemes: by sectors, by rings and randomly. We compare experimentally the Point Spread Function (PSF) in transversal planes along the optical axis with a single lens and with the designed multiplexed lenses. The intensity profiles are also compared. The random multiplexing is the combination technique that brings the best results in terms of DOF.

[1]  A Márquez,et al.  Programmable apodizer to compensate chromatic aberration effects using a liquid crystal spatial light modulator. , 2005, Optics express.

[2]  Edward R. Dowski,et al.  A New Paradigm for Imaging Systems , 2002, PICS.

[3]  A Márquez,et al.  Achromatic diffractive lens written onto a liquid crystal display. , 2006, Optics letters.

[4]  A Márquez,et al.  Amplitude Apodizers Encoded onto Fresnel Lenses Implemented on a Phase-Only Spatial Light Modulator. , 2001, Applied optics.

[5]  Juan Campos,et al.  Influence of nonuniform pupils in imaging periodical structures by photolithographic systems , 1998 .

[6]  Juan Campos,et al.  Evolution of the transverse response of an optical system with complex filters , 2005 .

[7]  M J Yzuel,et al.  Programmable axial apodizing and hyperresolving amplitude filters with a liquid-crystal spatial light modulator. , 1999, Optics letters.

[8]  Hiroshi Fukuda,et al.  A New Pupil Filter for Annular Illumination in Optical Lithography , 1992 .

[9]  Colin J. R. Sheppard,et al.  Axial behavior of pupil-plane filters , 1988 .

[10]  María J. Yzuel,et al.  Supergaussian rings: focusing properties , 1995 .

[11]  Zoltan S. Hegedus,et al.  Annular pupil arrays. Application to confocal scanning , 1985 .

[12]  W. Welford.  Use of Annular Apertures to Increase Focal Depth , 1960 .

[13]  F. Gan,et al.  High focal depth with a pure-phase apodizer. , 2001, Applied optics.

[14]  L R Berriel-Valdos,et al.  Zone plate for arbitrarily high focal depth. , 1990, Applied optics.

[15]  H. H. Hopkins,et al.  Influence of Non-uniform Amplitude on PSF , 1988 .

[16]  Guoguang Yang,et al.  An optical pickup using a diffractive optical element for a high-density optical disc , 1999 .

[17]  Claudio Iemmi,et al.  Quantitative prediction of the modulation behavior of twisted nematic liquid crystal displays based on a simple physical model , 2001 .