Replicated Micro-Optics for Multimedia Products

Advances in design, materials and production technology for micro-optical components have led to strong growth in their use in today’s consumer products. In particular, micro-optical components produced by replication technologies such as UV embossing can now withstand the severe processing and environmental requirements of the consumer electronics industry, including lead-free IR reflow and thermal shock. With their small size and low weight, as well as the possibility of optical function not achievable by conventional optics, micro-optical components and systems are finding applications in a wide variety of products. In the field of multimedia, novel designs and new production techniques are enabling applications in key areas such as illumination and display. The extreme compactness of micro-optical components, with typical thickness under 1 mm and footprints of only some millimeters square, makes them a natural candidate for consumer products such as mobile phones, pocket projectors and displays. Advances in UV embossing technology, enabling micro-optics to be mounted over various light sources in a variety of different ways, also allow extremely compact opto-electronic modules to be realized at highly competitive prices. In this paper we summarize recent technology developments and describe a number of multimedia applications utilizing state-of-the-art micro-optics.