A Large-FOV and High-Resolution Bionic Eyeball Optical System Based on A Sphere and Curved Imaging Surface

Abstract Bionic eyeballs have consistently received great attention, as it holds potential to restore vision for the visually impaired. To design a bionic eyeball that is closest to the human eye’s performance, scientists have proposed various eyeball models. However, this models all have relatively complex structures. We propose a novel design method for bionic eyeballs, introducing aspheric surface instead of spherical surface, and only need an incident and an imaging surfaces to achieve the imaging function of eyeball. Cleverly, we designate the lens surfaces as the Zernike Fringe Sag surfaces, utilizing its unique properties to obtain the lens capable of clear imaging within 170° Field of View. This design makes the lens size close to the human eye. Compared with traditional large Field of View lens groups, it has a minimalist structure. Additionally, we compare imaging performance of the lens with a curved imaging surface to that of the lens with a flat imaging surface, further demonstrating feasibility of our design. This provides a reference for the practical application of bionic eyeballs.