Field-curvature correction according to the curvature of a CMOS image-sensor using air-gap optimization

Abstract

Lens designers generally refer to flat image fields and attempt to minimize the field curvature. Present-day CMOS image sensors for mobile phone cameras, however, are not flat, but curved. Sometimes it is necessary to generate an intentional field curvature according to the degree and direction of the CMOS image-sensor’s curvature. This paper presents the degree of curvature of a CMOS image sensor measured using an interferometer, and proposes an effective compensation method that minimizes the net field curvature through optimizing the air gap between lens elements, which is demonstrated using simulations and experiments.