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Microlenses arrays: Fabrication, materials, and applications

Microscopy Research and Technique 2021 64 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 45 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Shuxiang Cai, Yalin Sun, Honghui Chu, Wenguang Yang, Haibo Yu, Lianqing Liu

Summary

This review covers fabrication methods, materials, and applications of microlens arrays, examining manufacturing approaches from direct writing to soft lithography and their use in imaging, sensing, and display technologies.

Microlenses have become an indispensable optical element in many optical systems. The advancement of technology has led to a wider variety of microlenses fabrication methods, but these methods suffer from, more or less, some limitations. In this article, we review the manufacturing technology of microlenses from the direct and indirect perspectives. First, we present several fabrication methods and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Then, we discuss the commonly used materials for fabricating microlenses and the applications of microlenses in various fields. Finally, we point out the prospects for the future development of microlenses and their fabrication methods.

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