Optimized microlens-array geometry for Hartmann–Shack wavefront sensor

• Microlens arrays molds were fabricated using KOH anisotropic silicon etching.
• Replication of the arrays and fabrication of random test aberration.
• Optical system was assembled to test the fabricated microlens arrays.
• Optimized and regular arrays were compared.
• The optimization procedure was effective in reducing the wavefront error.

This work presents the fabrication and test of microlens arrays for Hartmann–Shack wavefront sensor, which were optimized, in terms of geometry, to be applied to the ophthalmic context. The optimization procedure was previously proposed by the authors and comprised the minimization of the wavefront reconstruction error through the use of genetic algorithm. The results indicated that arrays with 10 and 16 suitably located lenses could perform as good as those with a larger number of microlenses (25 or 36) in a rectangular geometry. In the present work, the sequence consisted in fabricating molds in silicon of the optimized array geometries; replicating the molds on polymer; and testing the final arrays on an optical bench, to comparatively assess the performance of the fabricated arrays. In general, final results corroborate with the ones predicted by simulations.