Design of optical elements based on microstructured micro-lens arrays

Microstructure arrays are periodic configurations of optical (refractive) elements in microscale used to provide specific functionalities like beam shaping or homogenization. They perform optical functionalities like focusing, imaging and illumination based on refraction and reflection. At a smaller scale, diffraction contributes to light manipulation, beam shaping, splitting and polarization control. The complexity of the corresponding profile generally reflects the complexity of the achievable functionality. In this contribution we investigate how the addition of micro-nanostructures to regular microstructure arrays can lead to the enhancement of the array concept and enable new degrees of freedom for the design of micro-optical systems. With the recent advances in the area of fabrication technology, it is possible to combine different complex diffractive and refractive structures on a single micro-optical element. We use analytic and numerical design and optimization methods to design innovative optical elements as micro structured micro-lens arrays and study their characteristics, achievable functionalities and the limitations of the approach.