Highly flexible MTF measurement system for tunable micro lenses

We present an efficient, low-cost modulation transfer function (MTF) measurement approach, optimized for characterization of tunable micro-lenses; the MTF may easily be measured at a variety of different focal lengths. The approach uses a conventional optical microscope with an optimized approach for lens illumination and the measurement results have been correlated with a commercial MTF measurement system. Measurements on fixed-focus and tunable micro-lenses were performed; for the latter, resolution for lenses with back focal length of 11 mm was 55 lines/mm, decreasing to 40 lines/mm for a back focal length of 4 mm. In general, it was seen that performance was better for lenses with longer focal lengths. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America