Applying the finite-thickness model to designs of cylindrical microlenses with small f-numbers

The finite-thickness model (FTM) is applied to the design of cylindrical microlenses based on the wave-front interference principle, rather than the existing zero-thickness model (ZTM). This design method is very simple in physics and highly efficient in computations. For cylindrical lenses with different f-numbers (from f / 1.5 to f / 0.6), the detailed designs by using both the FTM and the ZTM are carried out. To show the superiority of the FTM to the ZTM, we investigate the focal performance of all the designed lenses based on rigorous electromagnetic theory and the boundary element method. Numerical results reveal that the constructed cylindrical lenses by the FTM are witnessed to exhibit much better focusing performance than those by the ZTM, especially for the small f-numbers.