Array projector design for projection on arbitrarily curved surfaces

The micro-optical array projector is a new and innovative possibility to project patterns onto arbitrary shaped surfaces(1). In contrast to single-aperture systems the illuminance of the projected image is raised by only increasing the lateral extent of the projector while keeping the length constant. Thanks to the setup -analogous to a fly's eye condenser - we obtain a very compact design with homogenization of illumination. The images to be projected are presented as arbitrarily curved CAD-objects. Because of its complexity, the first attempt was a chief-ray backtrace implemented into a CAD-program, with the individual projectorlets modelled as pinhole cameras. With this principle one can trace the slides for several applications like the projection on perpendicular, as well as tilted and curved surfaces. Since aberrations cannot be considered with the simple CAD backtrace described above, we used the commercially available raytracer Zemax (R), controlled by a macro, working in conjunction with a CAD-program for improved slide mask generation. Despite both methods, depending on the complexity of the optical system, are generating the fundamental mask data, the paper will show that there is a tradeoff between calculation time and accuracy. Based on this evaluation we will discuss further development as well as the possibility of improvement concerning the calculation methods. The different methods were investigated to determine their advantages and disadvantages. This provides the basis for the scope of application. Further we will demonstrate simulations as well as results obtained with built demonstrators.