High numerical aperture imaging systems formed by integrating bionic artificial compound eyes on a CMOS sensor

The compound eyes of natural insects endowed with the merits of a wide field of view (FOV), high sensitivity, and detection of moving targets, have aroused extensive concern. In this work, a large-scale artificial compound eye is fabricated by a high-efficiency and low-cost strategy that involves the combination of the thermal reflow method and pressure deformation. About 30,000 ommatidia are evenly distributed on the surface of a hemisphere with an ultralow surface roughness and a large numerical aperture (NA) of 0.66. Moreover, the FOV of the artificial compound eye investigated is about 120 degrees. The collaboration of the compound eye and CMOS sensor makes the ommatidia capturing multiple images of human organs enabled. This micro-based imaging system has considerable potential in integrated pinhole cameras, medical endoscopes, and drone navigation. (c) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

A large-scale artificial compound eye with a wide field of view and high sensitivity was fabricated using a low-cost strategy. The collaboration of the compound eye and CMOS sensor enables capturing multiple images of human organs. This micro-based imaging system has significant potential in medical applications and drone navigation.