Design of freeform microlens arrays with prescribed luminance distributions for MicroLED optical packaging

Non-uniform angular luminance distribution and limited viewing-angle control remain key challenges in MicroLED display modules. In this paper, we propose an optical packaging structure and a design method based on a freeform microlens array (MLA) to achieve prescribed angular luminance distributions. While freeform optics have been extensively studied for general illumination, their application in MicroLED packaging for directional luminance control has been rarely explored. Here, we extend an integrable ray mapping framework into the luminance domain and apply it to the design of MicroLED packaging optics, enabling compact, high-efficiency, and high-uniformity beam shaping. A lossless energy transformation strategy is first employed to convert the target luminance distribution into a uniformly sampled angular domain, addressing sampling imbalances at large viewing angles. An extended integrable ray mapping method is then used to compute a mapping between the MicroLED source domain and the angular domain, from which manufacturable single-surface freeform lenses and MLAs are derived. Two design examples-under symmetric and non-rotationally symmetric viewing conditions-are presented to validate the proposed approach. Simulation results demonstrate that the method achieves accurate angular luminance control and high uniformity across the desired viewing cone, confirming its practicality for real-world MicroLED display applications.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Applied Optics
Published
2025-08-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1364/ao.567792
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Advanced optical system design
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.67
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Design of freeform microlens arrays with prescribed luminance distributions for MicroLED optical packaging

Donglin Ma, Yijie Ni, Ding Feng
1 citations
Applied Optics
Advanced optical system design
0.67
article

Design of freeform microlens arrays with prescribed luminance distributions for MicroLED optical packaging

Donglin Ma, Yijie Ni, Ding Feng
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Non-uniform angular luminance distribution and limited viewing-angle control remain key challenges in MicroLED display modules. In this paper, we propose an optical packaging structure and a design method based on a freeform microlens array (MLA) to achieve prescribed angular luminance distributions. While freeform optics have been extensively studied for general illumination, their application in MicroLED packaging for directional luminance control has been rarely explored. Here, we extend an integrable ray mapping framework into the luminance domain and apply it to the design of MicroLED packaging optics, enabling compact, high-efficiency, and high-uniformity beam shaping. A lossless energy transformation strategy is first employed to convert the target luminance distribution into a uniformly sampled angular domain, addressing sampling imbalances at large viewing angles. An extended integrable ray mapping method is then used to compute a mapping between the MicroLED source domain and the angular domain, from which manufacturable single-surface freeform lenses and MLAs are derived. Two design examples-under symmetric and non-rotationally symmetric viewing conditions-are presented to validate the proposed approach. Simulation results demonstrate that the method achieves accurate angular luminance control and high uniformity across the desired viewing cone, confirming its practicality for real-world MicroLED display applications.

Applied OpticsVol. 64(27)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 28%
Advanced optical system design
0.67
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