Embossed Polymer Optical Components for Depth Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of high-quality optical elements for structured light depth sensors is labor-intensive, costly, and time-consuming, requiring tight tolerances and high-quality glass or plastic lenses, which limits scalability and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
The use of embossed polymer layers on substrates to form multiple optical elements, which are then diced into separate components, reducing manufacturing costs and enabling mass-scale production while maintaining optical alignment and stability, using techniques like UV curing and embossing to create collimating lenses, diffractive optical elements, and other components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional high-quality glass or plastic lenses are used with tight tolerances, then optical performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from traditional glass or plastic lenses to polymer layers, and changes the manufacturing parameter from precision machining with tight tolerances to embossing processes. This allows achieving the required optical performance through the embossed polymer structures while significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical precision machining system with an embossing system. Instead of using complex mechanical processes to create precise optical surfaces on glass or plastic lenses, the invention uses embossing molds to directly form the optical elements in polymer layers, simplifying the manufacturing system.
2Manufacturing precision
If traditional precision manufacturing methods are used, then optical quality is improved, but production time and labor intensity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates alignment features directly into the embossing molds during the preliminary mold fabrication stage. This preliminary action ensures that multiple optical elements are pre-aligned in the correct relative positions, eliminating the need for time-consuming alignment operations during assembly and significantly improving production efficiency while maintaining optical quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple optical elements and their alignment structures into a single integrated embossed component. By merging the optical elements with their alignment features into one manufacturing process, the invention achieves both high optical quality and high productivity, as multiple elements are produced simultaneously with built-in alignment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate optical elements are assembled, then optical functionality is achieved, but assembly time and alignment precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple optical elements into a single embossed polymer component with integrated alignment features. This combining approach maintains the required optical functionality while eliminating the need for separate assembly operations, thereby reducing assembly time and minimizing alignment precision requirements during manufacturing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach simplifies and automates the manufacturing process, reduces costs, improves performance by minimizing air/substrate interfaces, and allows for large-scale production of optically aligned optical components, enhancing the efficiency and stability of structured light depth sensing systems.
Implementation Method 1
using techniques like UV curing and embossing to create collimating lenses, diffractive optical elements, and other components
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments are disclosed herein related to the construction of optical elements for structured light depth sensor systems. One disclosed embodiment provides a depth sensing system with an optical component comprising a first substrate surface, a first optical element formed in a polymer layer disposed on the first substrate surface, a second substrate surface, and a second optical element formed in a polymer layer disposed on the second substrate surface, wherein the second optical element is optically aligned with the first optical element. The depth sensing further comprises a projector configured to provide light to form a pattern to illuminate a target, and a sensor to acquire an image of the pattern.