Semiconductors have dominated the electronics industry by replacing vacuum tubes with transistors and LSI. This trend remains still strong in every industry today. As liquid crystal displays (LCDs) replacing CRTs in the display industry, LEDs are replacing fluorescent tubes in the lighting industry, and silicon solar cells are replacing turbines in the energy industry. The 21st century could be noted as the age of semiconductors. These optical devices are rapidly becoming like semiconductor products while the technology for light-wave control devices like lenses and prisms remain several centuries old. OMRON is committed to conduct research and development on micro lens arrays (MLAs) and has positioned them as prime light-wave control devices for today's semiconductor markets. MLAs can control every property of light, including flux (light pencil), polarization, and wavelength. They not only facilitate product downsizing by the replacement, but also they add new value by hybrid integration of optical functions for specific applications. OMRON is focusing on developing more advanced MLAs for brighter and sharper image LCDs. OMRON also aims at business creation in biotechnology market which are considered to be the fast growing industry.

Projector MLAs

LCD projectors offering high-quality images are recently commonly used for presentation and home theater system applications. The key device for their further improvement is OMRON's MLA. Our MLA uses a highly advanced aspherical micro-lens array to focus light precisely on the pixel aperture. The technology improves brightness and image quality, significantly.

Backlight MLAs

Cellular phones are fast becoming the gateway to a mobile market. Their shift from voice to text and image capabilities has boosted the demand for lower-power consuming backlight. With OMRON's unique vector coupling technology and cylindrical micro-lens array, we are developing highly efficient backlight for cellular phone and portable data terminal displays.

Mobile Display MLAs

Reflective LCDs hold great promise as cellular phone and portable data terminal displays because they can be used in outdoor daylight, which is a considerable advantage over other types. OMRON's micro-lens array offers higher brightness compared to the conventional reflective LCDs and sharper image under any environment conditions.

Micro Lens Arrays (MLAs)
SPICA (Stacked Polymer optical IC/Advanced) Technology