CN111730792B

CN111730792B - Integrally-formed resin light homogenizing element and manufacturing method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN111730792B
Application number: CN202010776648.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郝芳; 黄河
Original assignee: Shanghai North Ocean Photonics Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shanghai North Ocean Photonics Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-05
Filing date: 2020-08-05
Publication date: 2020-12-18
Anticipated expiration: 2040-08-05
Also published as: CN111730792A

Abstract

An integrally formed resin light uniformizing element and a manufacturing method thereof. The manufacturing method comprises the steps of: A. arranging a preset amount of light-curing liquid resin material on at least one supporting plane; B. relatively reducing the distance between a mold and the support plane until reaching a preset distance, wherein the mold is provided with at least one microstructure surface for forming a micro-lens layer of the dodging element, the resin material is positioned between the microstructure surface and the support plane, and at the preset distance, the liquid resin material is diffused between the microstructure surface and the support plane and has a certain diffusion area, and the microstructure surface of the mold is stamped on the surface of the resin material to form the micro-lens layer; and C, carrying out photocuring treatment on the liquid resin material to obtain the photocured resin material serving as the dodging element. The light homogenizing element is integrally formed, the delaminating phenomenon can not occur, and in the manufacturing process, high-temperature injection molding and cooling molding are not needed.

Description

Integrally-formed resin light homogenizing element and manufacturing method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of optics, in particular to an integrally molded resin light homogenizing element and a manufacturing method thereof.

Background

Light homogenizing elements such as diffusers (diffusers) and the like are mainly used to modulate a light beam emitted from a light source to form a specific uniform light field in a desired field angle range. At present, dodging component generally is applied to the module of making a video recording like TOF makes a video recording module, degree of depth camera, 3D formation of image, face identification, intelligent house, robot, unmanned aerial vehicle, AR/VR and autopilot etc. electronic product field.

Fig. 1A is a schematic structural diagram of a first light uniformizing element 100A in the prior art, where the light uniformizing element 100A includes a glass substrate 10A, an adhesion-promoting layer 20A and a microlens layer 30A, which are arranged in multiple layers, where the adhesion-promoting layer 20A is disposed on a surface of the glass substrate 10A, and a resin layer with a micro-nano structure is imprinted on a surface of the adhesion-promoting layer 20A by a nanoimprinting method to form the microlens layer 30A, that is, the microlens layer 30A is made of a resin material. Since the resin material and the glass material are not the same material, the bonding force between the two layers of material is unstable, which easily causes the microlens layer 30A to fall off, thereby affecting the optical performance. For example, after the electronic product is subjected to a thermal shock test, the light uniformizing element 100A may delaminate with a certain probability, thereby affecting the performance of the electronic product. In addition, due to the fragile glass material of the glass substrate 10A, in some specific application scenarios, in order to protect the safety of human eyes, a sensor for detecting the glass fracture of the dodging element 100A needs to be added to the electronic product, which results in an increase in the cost of the electronic product.

Referring to fig. 1B, a schematic structural diagram of a second light uniformizing element 100B in the prior art is shown, in which the light uniformizing element 100B is formed by a conventional injection molding process to integrally form a microlens layer 20B on a surface of a high temperature resin material substrate 10B. In general, the light unifying element 100B uses a thermoplastic material as an injection molding material, such as a molten resin material, wherein the molten resin material flows in a mold having a surface microstructure, and then the light unifying element 100B is cooled and molded. However, since the fluidity of the molten resin material is poor and the temperature gradually drops during the flow in the mold, the molten resin material is gradually solidified, resulting in difficulty in molding the light unifying element 100B, and particularly for the light unifying element 100B of a larger size, the light unifying element 100B of a larger size is more difficult to mold due to an increase in the flow distance of the molten resin material. In addition, since the surface microstructure of the mold has some holes with specific sizes, air is likely to remain in the holes during the injection molding process, which results in increased difficulty of injection molding and poor replication capability, especially for the light uniformizing element 100B with finer injection molding structure, the more difficult the injection molding process is and the poorer the replication capability is. In addition, during the injection molding process of the light homogenizing element 100B, the molten resin material is prone to have non-uniformity of shrinkage and shrinkage during the cooling process, during the cooling and solidifying process, the preset state cannot be maintained due to insufficient pressure, the difference between the cooled state and the design state is large, and the like, thereby affecting the optical performance of the light homogenizing element 100B, and causing the electronic product applying the light homogenizing element 100B not to obtain the expected performance.

In addition, after reliability tests such as cold and hot impact, reflow soldering, high temperature and high humidity, drop tests and the like which are required to be passed by common electronic products, the traditional light homogenizing element is prone to phenomena such as material yellowing, poor transmittance, material pulverization and fragility, large change of optical performance and the like.

Disclosure of Invention

One advantage of the present invention is to provide an integrally molded resin light uniformizing element and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein the light uniformizing element is manufactured by an imprinting method, high-temperature injection molding and cooling molding are not required, the energy consumption is low, and the reliability is high.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide an integrally formed resin light uniformizing element and a manufacturing method thereof, wherein the light uniformizing element is integrally formed, and is not delaminated, and the light uniformizing element is made of a resin material, has good toughness and is not easily broken, and a sensor for detecting fracture is not required to be disposed in an electronic product such as a camera module, to which the light uniformizing element is applied, so that the cost of the electronic product is reduced.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide an integrally molded resin light uniformizing element and a manufacturing method thereof, wherein the light uniformizing element is integrally molded by using a light curable liquid resin material, and after reliability tests, such as cold and hot impact, reflow soldering, high temperature and high humidity, drop tests, etc., which are required to be passed by common electronic products, the light uniformizing element is not prone to yellowing of the material, is fragile in material pulverization, and can still ensure reliable transmittance and optical performance.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide an integrally molded resin light uniformizing element and a manufacturing method thereof, wherein the light uniformizing element is integrally molded by stamping, and has a higher replication capability and a stronger structure reduction capability compared to a conventional injection molded light uniformizing element.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide an integrally molded resin light uniformizing element and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein the light uniformizing element does not need to use high temperature or cooling and curing process in the manufacturing equation, and has a small thermal expansion coefficient, low energy consumption, and a small difference between the type and the design type of the finally molded light uniformizing element.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide an integrally molded resin light uniformizing element and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein the light uniformizing element can prevent light from generating interference fringes when the light propagates through the light uniformizing element in space, which is beneficial to providing a more uniform light field.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide an integrally molded resin light unifying element and a method of manufacturing the same, which can manufacture the light unifying element having different thicknesses.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide an integrally formed resin light uniformizing element and a method for manufacturing the same, which is low in cost, good in compatibility, and simple in manufacturing method.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the present invention further provides a method for manufacturing an integrally molded resin light uniformizing element, comprising the steps of:

A. arranging a preset amount of light-curing liquid resin material on at least one supporting plane;

B. relatively reducing the distance between a mold and the support plane until reaching a preset distance, wherein the mold is provided with at least one microstructure surface for forming a microlens layer of the light evening element, the resin material is positioned between the microstructure surface and the support plane, and the resin material in a liquid state is diffused between the microstructure surface and the support plane and has a certain diffusion area at the preset distance, and the microstructure surface of the mold is stamped on the surface of the resin material to form the microlens layer; and

C. and carrying out photocuring treatment on the liquid resin material to obtain the photocured resin material as the light homogenizing element.

In an embodiment, in the light uniformizing element manufacturing method, in the step B, the mold and the support plane are kept relatively parallel.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, the step B includes the steps of:

b1, relatively reducing the spacing between the mold and the support plane until reaching a position where the microstructure face of the mold contacts the resin material; and

b2, continuing to relatively reduce the distance between the mold and the supporting plane until the preset distance is reached, wherein the liquid resin material gradually diffuses between the microstructure surface and the supporting plane, wherein in the steps B1 and B2, the mold and the supporting plane are always kept relatively parallel.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, a diffusion area of the resin material in a liquid state does not exceed an area of the support plane at the predetermined distance.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, in the step a, the resin material in a liquid state is dispensed on the supporting plane.

In one embodiment, in the light uniformizing element manufacturing method, in the step a, the resin material is located at a central position of the support plane.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, the support plane is provided by a support plate.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, the method further includes the steps of: D. releasing the photo-cured resin material from between the mold and the support plane.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, the microlens layer is a microlens array structure composed of a group of randomly-arranged microlens units, wherein part of parameters of each microlens unit are different from each other, so as to prevent interference fringes from being generated when light propagates through the light uniformizing element in space.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, in the step a, at least two of the resin materials are separately arranged on the supporting plane.

In one embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, in the step B, the mold has at least two microstructure surfaces corresponding to the respective resin materials.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, in the step B, each of the microstructure surfaces is in a different plane, and a distance between each of the microstructure surfaces and the supporting plane is different, so that the light uniformizing elements with different thicknesses can be manufactured.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, in the step a, at least two of the resin materials are respectively arranged separately from each other in correspondence to at least two of the supporting planes.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing the light uniformizing element, at least two of the supporting planes are in different planes, and the distance between the microstructure surface and each supporting plane is different, so that the light uniformizing elements with different thicknesses can be manufactured.

In an embodiment, in the method for manufacturing a light uniformizing element, the resin material is a resin adhesive.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention further provides an integrally molded resin light uniformizing element comprising:

a resin substrate; and

and the micro-lens layer is integrally molded on the surface of the resin substrate in a stamping mode.

In one embodiment, the light homogenizing element is integrally molded in such a manner that a liquid resin material is imprints and diffused between a mold and a supporting plane and then the resin material is photocured, wherein the mold has a microstructure surface for forming the microlens layer of the light homogenizing element, and the microstructure surface of the mold imprints and forms the microlens layer on the surface of the resin material.

In one embodiment, the microlens layer is a microlens array structure composed of a group of randomly and regularly arranged microlens units, wherein partial parameters of each microlens unit are different from each other so as to prevent interference fringes from being generated when light propagates through the light homogenizing element in space.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention further provides a camera module, comprising:

a light-uniformizing element for uniformizing the light,

a light source unit; and

a light receiving unit, wherein the light source unit is configured to emit light, wherein the light unifying element is configured to modulate the light emitted from the light source unit to form a specific light field distribution, wherein the light receiving unit receives the reflected light, wherein the light unifying element comprises:

a resin substrate; and

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be fully apparent from the ensuing description and drawings.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the claims.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a schematic structural diagram of a light uniformizing element in the prior art.

FIG. 1B is a schematic structural diagram of another dodging element of the prior art.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of a light unifying element according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural view of the microlens layer of the light unifying element according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural view of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, relatively reducing the interval between the mold and the support plane to a preset distance L during the manufacturing process.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view of a photo-curing process of a resin material in a liquid state according to a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light uniforming element according to the above-described preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a schematic view of the dodging element obtained by a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the dodging element according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11A is a schematic configuration diagram of a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the first modified implementation of the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11B is a schematic configuration diagram of a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the first modified implementation of the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11C is a schematic configuration diagram of a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the first modified implementation of the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12A is a schematic configuration diagram of a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the second modified implementation of the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12B is a schematic configuration diagram of a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the second modified implementation of the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12C is a schematic configuration diagram of a manufacturing process of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the second modified implementation of the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram of the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the light unifying element according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a block diagram of a camera module for the dodging element according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following description is presented to disclose the invention so as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention. The preferred embodiments in the following description are given by way of example only, and other obvious variations will occur to those skilled in the art. The basic principles of the invention, as defined in the following description, may be applied to other embodiments, variations, modifications, equivalents, and other technical solutions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that in the present disclosure, the terms "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and the like are used in an orientation or positional relationship indicated in the drawings for ease of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the referenced devices or components must be in a particular orientation, constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus the above terms are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

It is understood that the terms "a" and "an" should be interpreted as meaning that a number of one element or element is one in one embodiment, while a number of other elements is one in another embodiment, and the terms "a" and "an" should not be interpreted as limiting the number.

In the description herein, references to the description of the term "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples," etc., mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above are not necessarily intended to refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, various embodiments or examples and features of different embodiments or examples described in this specification can be combined and combined by one skilled in the art without contradiction.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a light uniformizing element 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The light uniformizing element 100 is suitable for an electronic product, such as a camera module, such as a TOF camera module, a depth camera, 3D imaging, face recognition, smart home, a robot, an unmanned aerial vehicle, AR/VR, automatic driving, and the like, wherein the light uniformizing element 100 is used for modulating light beams emitted by a light source to form a specific uniform light field in a required field angle range, so as to improve the camera quality of the electronic product.

As shown in fig. 2, the light uniformizing element 100 includes a resin substrate 10 and a microlens layer 20, wherein the microlens layer 20 is integrally formed on the surface of the resin substrate 10 by stamping. The resin substrate 10 is made of a resin material, such as a resin adhesive, and the like, wherein the light uniformizing element 100 can be subjected to material reliability tests, such as cold and thermal shock, high temperature and high humidity, reflow soldering, slight drop and the like. Because the dodging element 100 is made of resin materials and is not easy to break, a sensor for detecting the break does not need to be arranged in an electronic product applying the dodging element, such as a camera module, and the cost of the electronic product is reduced. Compared with the traditional injection-molded light uniformizing element, the light uniformizing element 100 provided by the invention is integrally molded in an embossing manner, so that the copying capability is higher, and the structure restoring capability is stronger. In addition, in the manufacturing equation of the light uniformizing element 100, high temperature and cooling solidification process are not required, the thermal expansion coefficient is small, the energy consumption is low, and the difference between the form and the design form of the finally formed light uniformizing element is small.

Preferably, the resin material is a light-cured liquid resin material, and the resin material after light curing has good toughness, high material stability and is not easy to crack. In the process of manufacturing the light uniforming element 100, a liquid resin material may be printed in a certain pattern to form the microlens layer 20 of the light uniforming element 100, and then the liquid resin material is cured by light to obtain the resin material after light curing, that is, the light uniforming element 100. It should be noted that, in the manufacturing method of the light uniformizing element 100, the resin material in a molten state is not required, high temperature is not required, and a cooling and solidifying process is not required, so that compared with the conventional injection-molded light uniformizing element, the manufacturing process of the light uniformizing element 100 of the present invention has lower energy consumption and higher replication capability, and the difference between the form and the design form of the finally molded light uniformizing element is smaller.

After the optical uniforming element 100 obtained by photocuring the resin material is subjected to reliability tests such as cold and hot impact, reflow soldering, high temperature and high humidity, drop tests and the like which are required to pass by common electronic products, the optical uniforming element 100 is not easy to cause the phenomena of yellowing of materials and pulverization and fragility of the materials, and can still ensure reliable transmittance, optical performance and the like.

Further, as shown in fig. 4, the present preferred embodiment also provides a manufacturing apparatus 600 for manufacturing the light unifying element 100, wherein the manufacturing apparatus 600 comprises a supporting plate 610 and a mold 620, wherein the supporting plate 610 has at least one supporting plane 601, wherein the mold 620 has at least one microstructure surface 621 for forming the microlens layer 20 of the light unifying element 100, wherein the microstructure surfaces 621 correspond to the supporting plane 601 and are spaced apart by a certain distance D. The mold 620 and the support plate 610 are relatively movable to decrease or increase the spacing D between the microstructure surface 621 of the mold 620 and the support plane 601 of the support plate 610.

Further, the preferred embodiment also provides a manufacturing method of the dodging element 100, which includes:

s10, arranging a preset amount of light-curing liquid resin material 630 on the supporting plane 601 of the supporting plate 610;

s20, relatively reducing the distance D between the microstructure surface 621 of the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 until reaching a preset distance, wherein the resin material 630 is located between the microstructure surface 621 and the supporting plane 601, and at the preset distance, the resin material 630 in a liquid state is diffused between the microstructure surface 621 and the supporting plane 601 and has a certain diffusion area, wherein the microstructure surface 621 of the mold 620 imprints on the surface of the resin material 630 to form the microlens layer 20; and

s30, performing a photo-curing process on the liquid resin material 630 to obtain the photo-cured resin material 630 as the light uniformizing element 100.

It can be seen that in the manufacturing method, the resin material 630 does not need to be processed by means of high temperature and cooling solidification.

As shown in fig. 3, the microlens layer 20 is a microlens array structure composed of a group of randomly arranged microlens units 21, wherein part of parameters of each microlens unit 21 are different from each other, so as to prevent interference fringes from being generated when light propagates through the light uniformizing element 100 in space, which is beneficial for forming a uniform light field.

The micro-structure surface 621 of the mold 620 is configured to correspondingly emboss and form the micro-lens structure of the micro-lens layer 21, that is, the micro-structure surface 621 of the mold 620 can emboss and form the micro-lens array of the micro-lens layer 21 on the surface of the liquid resin material 630.

Compared with the traditional regularly arranged micro-lens array, the micro-lens array of the light uniformizing element 100 can avoid the phenomenon that light and dark stripes are generated due to interference effect in the space transmission process of light beams, improve the uniformity of a light field and be beneficial to improving the detection quality. The micro-lens array realizes the modulation of light beams based on the refraction optical principle, and avoids the defects that the existing diffraction dodging element has zero order, which obviously causes poor energy uniformity, or the diffraction efficiency of the dodging element is low, which causes low transmittance, and the like, thereby being beneficial to the acquisition of information by the detection equipment and improving the detection quality.

Part of parameters or random regular variables of each microlens unit 21 are preset within a certain range, so that each microlens unit 21 has a shape and size or a spatial arrangement mode which are randomly regulated, namely, the shape and size between any two microlens units 21 are different from each other, and the arrangement mode is irregular, so that interference fringes are prevented from being generated when light beams are transmitted in space, the dodging effect is improved, and the regulation and control of the light spot shape and the light intensity distribution of the required illumination target scene are met.

Preferably, the microlens unit 21 has an aspherical surface type, which is an optical structure having a power function. For example, the microlens unit 21 may be a concave lens or a convex lens, and is not particularly limited herein. The regulation and control of the spot shape and the light intensity distribution of the required illumination target scene are realized by performing random regularization treatment, i.e. modulation process, on part of parameters or variables of the microlens unit 21. Some of the random parameters of the microlens unit 21 include, but are not limited to, the curvature radius, the conic constant, the aspheric coefficient, the shape and size of the effective clear aperture of the microlens unit 21, i.e., the cross-sectional profile of the microlens unit 21 in the X-Y plane, the spatial arrangement of the microlens unit 21, and the surface profile of the microlens unit 21 in the Z-axis direction.

Preferably, the surface profile z of each microlens unit 21 is expressed as:

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

a base aspheric term, wherein c is a curvature of the microlens unit, and k is a conic constant, whereinA polynomial, where N is the number of polynomials,

A_ifor coefficients of the ith expansion polynomial, polynomial E_i(x, y) is a power series of x and y, where the first term is x, the second term is y, and then x, x y, y.

By way of example, the design method of the first embodiment of the micro-structured surface 621 of the mold 620 and the corresponding micro-lens array of the light uniformizing element 20 provided by this embodiment includes the steps of:

s01, dividing the area where each microlens unit 21 is located on the surface of the substrate, wherein the cross-sectional shapes or the sizes of the areas where each microlens unit 21 is located are basically consistent;

s02, establishing a global coordinate system (X, Y, Z) for the entire microlens array, establishing a local coordinate system (xi, yi, zi) for each individual microlens unit, and the center coordinate of the corresponding region is (X0, Y0, Z0), wherein the center coordinate of the region represents the initial center position of the corresponding microlens unit 21;

s03, setting the real central position of each microlens unit to be respectively added with a random offset X in the directions of the X axis and the Y axis at the central coordinate of the area_Offset、Y_Offset(ii) a And

s04, for each microlens unit, the surface profile along the Z-axis direction is expressed by a curved function f:

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

c is the curvature of the microlens unit, k is a conic constant, Ai is the coefficient of the ith expansion polynomial, Z_OffsetIs the offset in the Z-axis direction corresponding to each microlens unit.

It is noted that the curvature c, cone of the microlens element is alwaysThe number k and the aspheric coefficient Ai are randomly regulated in a certain range according to the application scene. On the basis of carrying out random regularization processing on parameters such as curvature c, a conic constant k and aspheric surface coefficients Ai of the micro lens units in a preset range, converting the coordinate of each micro lens unit from the local coordinate system (xi, yi, zi) into the global coordinate system (X, Y, Z), and converting the offset Z along the Z-axis direction corresponding to each micro lens unit_OffsetRandom regularization is carried out in a certain range, so that the surface shape of each micro lens unit in the Z-axis direction is randomly regularized, interference fringes generated by light beams are avoided, and the light uniformizing effect is achieved.

In step S01, the cross-sectional shape of the region where each microlens unit 21 is located is selected from a group consisting of: rectangular, circular, triangular, trapezoidal, polygonal, or other irregular shapes, without limitation.

By way of example, the present embodiment provides a design method of the second embodiment of the micro-structured surface 621 of the mold 620 and the corresponding micro-lens array of the light unifying element 20, including the steps of:

s01a, dividing the area where each microlens unit 21 is located on the surface of the substrate, wherein the cross-sectional shapes or the sizes of the areas where each microlens unit 21 is located are different;

s02b, establishing a global coordinate system (X, Y, Z) for the whole microlens array, establishing a local coordinate system (xi, yi, zi) for each individual microlens unit, and the central coordinate of the local coordinate system is (X0, Y0, Z0);

s03c, for each microlens unit, the surface profile along the Z-axis direction is represented by a curved function f:

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

It should be noted that the curvature c, the conic constant k, and the aspheric coefficient Ai of the microlens unit 21 are randomly regulated in a certain range according to the application scenario. On the basis of random regularization processing of parameters such as curvature c, conic constant k and aspheric surface coefficient Ai of the microlens unit 21 in a predetermined range, the coordinate of each microlens unit 21 is converted from the local coordinate system (xi, yi, zi) to the global coordinate system (X, Y, Z), and the amount of shift Z in the Z-axis direction corresponding to each microlens unit 21 is converted_OffsetRandom regularization is carried out in a certain range, so that the surface shape of each microlens unit 21 in the Z-axis direction is randomly regularized, interference fringes generated by light beams are avoided, and the light uniformizing effect is achieved.

Further, in the manufacturing method of the light unifying element 100, in the step S20, the mold 620 is kept parallel to the supporting plane 601. That is, the microstructure surface 621 of the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 of the supporting plate 610 are always kept parallel when the mold 620 and the supporting plate 610 are relatively moved. In other words, in the step S20, the distance between the mold 620 and the support plane 601 is relatively reduced while keeping parallel.

Further, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, in the step S20, the method includes:

s21, relatively reducing the distance D between the mold 620 and the support plane 601 until reaching a position where the microstructure surface 621 of the mold 620 contacts the resin material 630; and

s22, continuing to relatively reduce the distance between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 until the preset distance is reached, wherein the liquid resin material 630 gradually spreads between the microstructure surface 621 and the supporting plane 601, wherein the mold and the supporting plane are always kept relatively parallel in the steps S21 and S22.

In the step S10, the liquid resin material 630 may be dispensed on the supporting plane 601, wherein the liquid resin material 630 is supported on the supporting plane 601 in a raised manner, that is, the liquid resin material 630 may have a certain height H and volume. For example, a predetermined amount of the resin material 630 in a liquid state may be disposed on the supporting plane 601 by a dispensing device.

In the step S21, the distance D between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 is greater than the height H of the resin material 630 in the liquid state, and the distance D between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 gradually decreases until the microstructure surface 621 of the mold 620 substantially contacts the resin material 630, at which time the distance D between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 is substantially equal to the height H of the resin material 630.

It is understood that, in the step S21, the resin material 630 is not compressed between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601, and therefore, the speed of the relative movement between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 can be adjusted accordingly to shorten the manufacturing time.

In step S22, as shown in fig. 7, as the distance between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 is further relatively decreased, the liquid resin material 630 is squeezed and spread outward between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601, and the horizontal area and height of the liquid resin material 630 gradually increase and decrease. Until the distance D between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 reaches the preset distance L, as shown in fig. 8, the distance D between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 does not decrease any more, and at this time, the height of the resin material 630 in a liquid state reaches a minimum value, and the horizontal area reaches a maximum value for the preset distance L.

In step S22, in order to ensure uniform spreading of the resin material 630 in liquid state, the mold 620 and the support plane 601 are always kept parallel during the relative movement. Further, in the step S22, the relative moving speed between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 may be regulated.

It is understood that, in the step S22, a blocking element for limiting the diffusion of the liquid resin material 630 may be disposed between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 to change the diffusion direction of the liquid resin material 630, so as to control the planar shape of the liquid resin material 630 finally formed by diffusion, thereby obtaining the light uniforming element 100 with different shapes.

It is worth mentioning that, at the preset distance L, the spreading area of the liquid resin material does not exceed the area of the support plane 601. That is, in the step S10, the amount of the resin material 630 in a liquid state arranged on the support plane 601 may be controlled such that the diffusion area of the resin material 630 in a liquid state reaches a preset area at the preset distance L to obtain the light uniformizing element 100 of a corresponding size.

Preferably, in the step S10, the resin material 630 in liquid state may be located at the central position 602 of the supporting plane 601, or near the central position, etc. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that when a plurality of the light uniforming elements 100 are manufactured at the same time, a plurality of the resin materials 630 in liquid state may be arranged at a plurality of different positions of the supporting plane 601 separately from each other, and when the distance D between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601 is reduced to the preset distance L, the diffused plurality of the resin materials 630 in liquid state do not interfere with each other or contact each other.

Further, as shown in fig. 13, the manufacturing apparatus 600 further includes a moving unit 640 for relatively moving the mold 620 and the support plate 610, wherein the moving unit 640 can relatively move the mold 620 and the support plate 610 in parallel to change the distance D between the mold 620 and the support plate 610. Optionally, the moving unit 640 is used to move the mold 620, wherein the supporting unit 610 remains stationary. Optionally, the moving unit 640 is used to move the supporting unit 610, and the mold 620 is kept stationary. Optionally, the moving unit 640 is configured to move the supporting unit 610 and the mold 620 relatively at the same time. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the transmission mechanism of the moving unit 640 may be a gear structure, a belt, a piston, a stepping motor, etc., and is not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 9, in the step S30, the resin material 630 in the liquid state is subjected to a photo-curing process, so that the resin material 630 in the liquid state is cured and molded, thereby obtaining the light uniformizing element 100. That is, the resin material 630 after photo-curing is the light uniformizing element 100, and has good toughness and strength.

Further, the manufacturing apparatus 600 further includes a light curing unit 650, wherein the light curing unit 650 is configured to perform a light curing process on the liquid resin material 630, and the light curing unit 650 may include a light source emitting light to achieve a light curing effect.

As shown in fig. 10, the manufacturing method further includes:

s40, releasing the photo-cured resin material 630 from between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601.

Preferably, the moving unit 640 is capable of relatively moving to reduce the distance D between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601, when the distance D reaches the preset distance L, the moving unit 640 does not continuously reduce the distance between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 601, and after the light curing unit 650 light-cures the resin material 630, the moving unit 640 relatively moves to increase the distance D between the mold 620 and the supporting plane 610, so as to facilitate taking out the light-cured resin material 630 and manufacturing the light-homogenizing element of the next batch, thereby achieving industrial batch production.

In the first modified embodiment of the present preferred embodiment, the manufacturing apparatus 600 can simultaneously manufacture the light unifying elements 100 with different thicknesses. 11A-11C, the microstructure face 621 of the mold 620 comprises first and second microstructure faces 6211, 6212 in different planes, wherein a first separation distance D1 between the first microstructure face 6211 and the support plane 601 is greater than a second separation distance D2 between the second microstructure face 6212 and the support plane 601. A first dodging element 101 can be correspondingly embossed between the first microstructure surface 6211 and the supporting plane 601, and a second dodging element 102 can be correspondingly embossed between the second microstructure surface 6212 and the supporting plane 601, wherein the thickness of the first dodging element 101 is greater than that of the second dodging element 102.

In step S10, at least two resin materials 630 are separately disposed on the supporting plane 601, wherein at least two resin materials 630 correspond to the microstructure surfaces 621 in different planes respectively. As shown in fig. 11A, the two resin materials 630 are a first resin material 631 and a second resin material 632, respectively, wherein the first resin material 631 is disposed between the first microstructure surface 6211 and the support plane 601, and wherein the second resin material 632 is disposed between the second microstructure surface 6212 and the support plane 601.

It is understood that the amounts of the first resin material 631 and the second resin material 632 in liquid state can be adjusted according to actual requirements to manufacture the light uniforming element 100 with different thicknesses. Further, in the step S20, the first resin material 631 and the second resin material 632 after being diffused do not interfere with each other and do not contact each other.

In a second modified embodiment of the present preferred embodiment, as shown in fig. 12A to 12C, the support plane 601 of the support plate 610 includes a first support plane 6011 and a second support plane 6012 in different planes, wherein a distance between the first support plane 6011 and the microstructure surface 621 is larger than a distance between the second support plane 6012 and the microstructure surface 621. A first light homogenizing element 101 can be correspondingly stamped and formed between the microstructure surface 621 and the first support plane 6011, and a second light homogenizing element 102 can be correspondingly stamped and formed between the microstructure surface 621 and the second support plane 6012, wherein the thickness of the first light homogenizing element 101 is greater than that of the second light homogenizing element 102.

In the step S10, at least two resin materials 630 are disposed on the first support plane 6011 and the second support plane 6012, respectively. As shown in fig. 12A, the first resin material 631 is disposed on the first support plane 6011, and the second resin material 632 is disposed on the second support plane 6012.

Of course, it can be understood by those skilled in the art that the manufacturing apparatus 600 can also manufacture more uniform light elements 100 with different thicknesses at the same time. For example, the mold 620 may have more microstructure surfaces 621 in different planes, or the support plate 610 may have more support surfaces 601 in different planes, or the mold 620 may have a plurality of microstructure surfaces 621 in different planes, and the support plate 610 may have a corresponding pair of support surfaces 601 in different planes, without limitation.

Further, as shown in fig. 14, the preferred embodiment further provides a camera module applying the light uniformizing element 100, wherein the camera module includes the light uniformizing element 100, a light source unit 200 and a light receiving unit 300, wherein the light source unit 200 is configured to emit light, wherein the light uniformizing element 100 is configured to modulate the light emitted by the light source unit 200 to form a specific light field distribution, wherein the light receiving unit 300 receives reflected light, wherein the light uniformizing element 100 includes the resin substrate 10 and the microlens layer 20, and wherein the microlens layer 20 is integrally molded on the surface of the resin substrate 10 by stamping.

Further, the microlens layer 20 is a microlens array structure composed of a group of randomly regularly arranged microlens units 21, wherein partial parameters of each microlens unit are different from each other so as to prevent interference fringes from being generated when light propagates through the light homogenizing element in space.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention described above and shown in the drawings are given by way of example only and are not limiting of the invention. The objects of the invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The functional and structural principles of the present invention have been shown and described in the examples, and any variations or modifications of the embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the principles.

Claims

1. The method for manufacturing the integrally molded resin light uniformizing element is characterized by comprising the following steps of:

B. relatively reducing the distance between a mold and the support plane until reaching a preset distance, wherein the mold is provided with at least one microstructure surface for forming a microlens layer of the light evening element, the resin material is positioned between the microstructure surface and the support plane, and the resin material in a liquid state is diffused between the microstructure surface and the support plane and has a certain diffusion area at the preset distance, and the microstructure surface of the mold is stamped on the surface of the resin material to form the microlens layer;

C. carrying out photocuring treatment on the liquid resin material to obtain the photocured resin material as the light uniformizing element, so that the microlens layer is integrally molded on the surface of the resin substrate of the light uniformizing element in an embossing manner; and

D. releasing the photo-cured resin material from between the mold and the support plane.

2. The method for manufacturing a light unifying element according to claim 1, wherein in the step B, the mold is kept relatively parallel to the support plane.

3. The method for manufacturing a light unifying element according to claim 2, wherein the step B comprises:

4. The method for manufacturing a light unifying element according to claim 3, wherein a diffusion area of the resin material in a liquid state does not exceed an area of the support plane at the preset distance.

5. The method for manufacturing a light homogenizing element according to claim 1, wherein in the step a, the resin material in liquid state is dispensed on the supporting plane.

6. The method for manufacturing a light unifying element according to claim 5, wherein in the step A, the resin material is located at a center position of the support plane.

7. The method for manufacturing a light unifying element according to claim 6, wherein a diffusion area of the resin material in a liquid state does not exceed an area of the support plane at the preset distance.

8. A method for manufacturing a light unifying element according to claim 1, the support plane being provided by a support plate.

9. The method for manufacturing a light homogenizing element according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the microlens layer is a microlens array structure composed of a group of randomly arranged microlens units, wherein partial parameters of each microlens unit are different from each other so as to prevent interference fringes from being generated when light propagates through the light homogenizing element in space.

10. The method for manufacturing a light unifying element according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein in the step a, at least two of the resin materials are arranged separately from each other on the support plane.

11. The method for manufacturing a light unifying element according to claim 10, wherein in the step B, the mold has at least two of the microstructure faces corresponding to each of the resin materials, respectively.

12. The method for manufacturing a light homogenizing element according to claim 11, in the step B, wherein each microstructure surface is in a different plane, wherein the spacing between each microstructure surface and the supporting plane is different, so as to manufacture the light homogenizing element with different thicknesses.

13. The method for manufacturing a light unifying element according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in the step a, at least two of the resin materials are arranged separately from each other corresponding to at least two of the support planes.

14. The method for manufacturing a light homogenizing element according to claim 13, wherein at least two of the supporting planes are in different planes, wherein the distance between the microstructure plane and each supporting plane is different, so that the light homogenizing element with different thicknesses can be manufactured.

15. The method for manufacturing a light unifying element according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the resin material is a resin glue.

16. An integrally molded resin light homogenizing element, comprising:

a resin substrate; and

the micro-lens layer is integrally formed on the surface of the resin substrate in an embossing mode;

wherein a liquid resin material is imprints and spreads between a mold and a supporting plane, then the light uniformizing element is integrally molded in a manner that the resin material is photocured, and the photocured resin material is separated from between the mold and the supporting plane, wherein the mold has a microstructure surface for forming the microlens layer of the light uniformizing element, and the microstructure surface of the mold imprints and forms the microlens layer on the surface of the resin material.

17. The light homogenizing element of claim 16, wherein the microlens layer is a microlens array structure composed of a group of randomly arranged microlens units, wherein partial parameters of each microlens unit are different from each other so as to prevent interference fringes generated when light propagates through the light homogenizing element in space.

18. The light unifying element of claim 17, wherein the resin material is a resin glue.

19. A camera module, comprising:

a light-uniformizing element for uniformizing the light,

a light source unit; and

a resin substrate; and