Ultrathin arrayed camera for high-contrast near-infrared imaging.

We report an ultrathin arrayed camera (UAC) for high-contrast near infrared (NIR) imaging by using microlens arrays with a multilayered light absorber. The UAC consists of a multilayered composite light absorber, inverted microlenses, gap-alumina spacers and a planar CMOS image sensor. The multilayered light absorber was fabricated through lift-off and repeated photolithography processes. The experimental results demonstrate that the image contrast is increased by 4.48 times and the MTF 50 is increased by 2.03 times by eliminating optical noise between microlenses through the light absorber. The NIR imaging of UAC successfully allows distinguishing the security strip of authentic bill and the blood vessel of finger. The ultrathin camera offers a new route for diverse applications in biometric, surveillance, and biomedical imaging.