Automated quality assessment of inkjet-printed microlens arrays

Recently, inkjet-printed microoptics, such as microlens arrays, have become popular in scientific research as well as industrial applications due to the fast prototyping and production. Naturally, the process parameters have a strong influence on the printed end results. However, optimization of these parameters requires expert knowledge and manual quality control which is subjective and error-prone. To overcome these limitations, we propose an automated evaluation pipeline utilizing both light and confocal microscope images as well as multiple quality measures to quantitatively evaluate the quality of the printed microlens arrays, including the individual microlens radii, sag heights, and focal lengths, as well as the array's grid parameters.

Automated summary

In recent years, inkjet-printed microoptics, such as microlens arrays, have gained popularity in scientific research and industrial applications due to their fast prototyping and production process. However, optimizing process parameters requires expert knowledge and manual quality control, which can be subjective and error-prone. To address these issues, an automated evaluation pipeline utilizing both light and confocal microscope images and multiple quality measures has been proposed.