Large-Area and Rapid Fabrication of a Microlens Array on a Flexible Substrate for an Integral Imaging 3D Display

Abstract

A curved integral imaging three-dimensional (3D) display attracts a lot of interest due to its enhanced 3D sense of immersion and wider viewing angle. In this paper, a microlens array (MLA) based on a flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate was achieved by a straightforward, rapid, and low-cost technique. The reactive ion etching (RIE) process treated PET/CYTOP covered with a flexible mask to generate a hydrophilic–hydrophobic patterned surface. The well-designed arrays of confined adhesive droplets with a controlled geometry on a hydrophilic–hydrophobic patterned surface were formed using the blade-coating method. A flexible MLA with a diameter of 820 μm, a size of 5.3 cm × 5.1 cm, and a radius of curvature of 25 cm was fabricated and combined with a curved two-dimensional (2D) monitor to realize a lateral viewing range of 6.4 cm at a viewing distance of 25 cm, which is 4 times larger than with flat integral imaging 3D display system. The flexible MLA has the advantages of a controllable lens profile and large pitch, and it can be manufactured on a large scale. In addition, it provides a large viewing angle for the reconstructed 3D image.

Control of processing effects under high-frequency femtosecond laser irradiation on three commercial polymers with different thermal properties

“…Among all the disciplines where polymers are used, their presence as substrates for flexible electronical and photonic devices is one of the most relevant [1][2][3][4]. In this sense, ultra-short lasers have been used for optical instrument fabrication using polymers as substrates [5][6][7][8][9].…”