Optical aberration effects on beam quality in microlens array scanning systems

Microlens array scanning (MLAS) has emerged as a promising semi-solid micromechanical beam scanning technology, which has significant potential in fields such as LIDAR and free-space optical communication. Beam quality is a crucial performance index in MLAS, which directly affects the overall performance of the system. To better evaluate and optimize the performance of the MLAS system, we investigate the effect of aberrations on this critical parameter of MLAS beam quality. This paper commences by constructing a model of the Kepler-structured MLAS system affected by aberrations based on the wave aberration theory. A detailed examination is conducted on the influence of both uniform and non-uniform wave aberrations within the MLAS on the beam quality. This paper investigates the effects of defocus, astigmatism, coma, and spherical aberration on the far-field intensity distribution of the MLAS system by using the Zernike aberration decomposition technique. Employing the Strehl ratio (SR) and power-in-the-bucket (PIB) as quantitative evaluation indices of beam quality, this study calculates the aberration-induced alterations in far-field focusing ability and energy concentration. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for the design optimization, manufacturing, and assembly testing of MLAS technologies.