Systems and methods for manufacturing camera modules using active alignment of lens stack arrays and sensors

1. A method for actively aligning a lens stack array with a sensor that includes a plurality of focal planes, where each focal plane comprises a plurality of rows of pixels that also form a plurality of columns of pixels and each focal plane is contained within a region of the imager array that does not contain pixels from another focal plane, the method comprising:

aligning the lens stack array relative to the sensor in an initial position, where the lens stack array comprises a plurality of lens stacks and the plurality of lens stacks forms separate optical channels for each focal plane in the sensor;

varying the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor;

capturing images of a known target using a plurality of active focal planes at different spatial relationships between the lens stack array and the sensor, where the known target comprises a central region of interest and at least one peripheral region of interest;

scoring the images captured by the plurality of active focal planes, where the resulting scores provide a direct comparison of the extent to which at least one region of interest is focused in the images, wherein the comparison of scores comprises computing:

a first best-fit plane that defines a spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor based on each active focal plane's ability to focus on the central region of interest according to a first predetermined criterion;

a second best-fit plane that defines a spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor based on each active focal plane's ability to focus on the at least one peripheral region of interest according to a second predetermined criterion; and

a plurality of planes incrementally spaced that lie between the first and second best-fit planes;

selecting a spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor based upon a comparison of the scores of images captured by a plurality of the active focal planes; and

forming an array camera subassembly in which the lens stack array and the sensor are fixed in the selected spatial relationship.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein scoring the images captured by the plurality of active focal planes, comprises computing modulation transfer function (MTF) scores for the images.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the comparison of the scores of images captured by a plurality of the active focal planes is based upon:

a comparison of the scores of the images captured by a plurality of the active focal planes at the selected spatial relationship to the scores of images captured by the same active focal planes at different spatial relationships; and

the variation between the scores of the images captured by the active focal planes at the selected spatial relationship.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the comparison of scores comprises omitting from consideration an image captured by an active focal plane, when the score of the image captured by the active focal plane fails to satisfy at least one predetermined criterion.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the at least one predetermined criterion includes the score of the image captured by the active focal plane being within a predetermined range.

6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising deactivating an active focal plane, when the image captured by the active focal plane is omitted from consideration.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the comparison of scores comprises determining a mathematical relationship for each of a plurality of active focal planes that characterizes the relationship between the scores for the images captured by the respective active focal planes and the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the comparison of scores further comprises computing a best-fit plane using the determined mathematical relationships, where the best-fit plane, defines a desirable spatial relationship in accordance with predetermined criterion.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the predetermined criterion includes maximizing scores while minimizing the variance of the scores.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the comparison of scores further comprises determining mathematical relationships for each of a plurality of active focal planes that characterize the relationships between:

the scores of the extent to which the central region of interest is focused in the images captured by the respective active focal plane and the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor; and

the scores of the extent to which the at least one peripheral region of interest is focused in the images captured by the respective active focal plane and the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein selecting a spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor comprises using at least one predetermined criterion to select one of: a spatial relationship defined by the first best-fit plane, a spatial relationship defined by the second best-fit plane, and a spatial relationship defined by one of the plurality of planes.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one predetermined criterion is based upon:

at each spatial relationship defined by the computed planes, averaging the scores indicative of the extent to which the central region of interest is focused, the scores being averaged across all active focal planes at the respective spatial relationship;

at each spatial relationship defined by the computed planes, averaging the scores indicative of the extent to which the at least one peripheral region of interest is focused, the scores being averaged across all active focal planes at the respective spatial relationship; and

assessing the variation in the determined average scores between the spatial relationships.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein aligning the lens stack array relative to the sensor in an initial position further comprises:

performing an initial sweep of the lens stack array relative to the sensor;

capturing an initial set of images of a known target including a central region of interest, at varied spatial relationships along the initial sweep, using a plurality of active focal planes;

determining focus scores for the central region of interest in a plurality of the captured images;

determining an initial set of mathematical relationships for each of the plurality of active focal planes used to capture the initial set of images, where the mathematical relationships characterize the relationship between the focus scores and the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor;

computing an initial best-fit plane using the initial set of mathematical relationships; and

aligning the lens stack array with the computed initial best-fit plane.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein varying the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor involves sweeping the lens stack array relative to the sensor.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the lens stack array is swept in a direction substantially normal to the surface of the sensor.

16. A method for actively aligning a lens stack array with a sensor that includes a plurality of focal planes, where each focal plane comprises a plurality of rows of pixels that also form a plurality of columns of pixels and each focal plane is contained within a region of the imager array that does not contain pixels from another focal plane, the method comprising:

aligning the lens stack array relative to the sensor in an initial position, where the lens stack array comprises a plurality of lens stacks and the plurality of lens stacks forms separate optical channels for each focal plane in the sensor;

varying the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor;

capturing images of a known target using a plurality of active focal planes at different spatial relationships between the lens stack array and the sensor, where the known target includes a central region of interest and at least one peripheral region of interest;

scoring the images captured by the plurality of active focal planes, where the resulting scores provide a direct comparison of the extent to which at least one region of interest is focused in the images;

wherein the images are scored such that a score is provided for each region of interest visible in each image, the score being indicative of the extent to which the respective region of interest is focused in the image;

selecting a spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor based upon a comparison of the scores of images captured by a plurality of the active focal planes;

wherein the comparison of scores comprises:

determining mathematical relationships for each of a plurality of active focal planes that characterize the relationships between:

the scores of the extent to which the central region of interest is focused in the images captured by the respective active focal plane and the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor; and

the scores of the extent to which the at least one peripheral region of interest is focused in the images captured by the respective active focal plane and the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor; and

computing, using the determined mathematical relationships:

a first best-fit plane that defines a spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor based on each active focal plane's ability to focus on a central region of interest according to predetermined criterion;

a second best-fit plane that defines a spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor based on each active focal plane's ability to focus on the at least one peripheral region of interest according to predetermined criterion; and

a plurality of planes incrementally spaced that lie between the first and second best-fit planes

forming an array camera subassembly in which the lens stack array and the sensor are fixed in the selected spatial relationship.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein selecting a spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor comprises using at least one predetermined criterion to select one of: a spatial relationship defined by the first best-fit plane, a spatial relationship defined by the second best-fit plane, and a spatial relationship defined by one of the plurality of planes.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the at least one predetermined criterion is based upon:

at each spatial relationship defined by the computed planes, averaging the scores indicative of the extent to which the central region of interest is focused, the scores being averaged across all active focal planes at the respective spatial relationship;

at each spatial relationship defined by the computed planes, averaging the scores indicative of the extent to which the at least one peripheral region of interest is focused, the scores being averaged across all active focal planes at the respective spatial relationship; and

assessing the variation in the determined average scores between the spatial relationships.

19. A method for actively aligning a lens stack array with a sensor that includes a plurality of focal planes, where each focal plane comprises a plurality of rows of pixels that also form a plurality of columns of pixels and each focal plane is contained within a region of the imager array that does not contain pixels from another focal plane, the method comprising:

aligning the lens stack array relative to the sensor in an initial position, where the lens stack array comprises a plurality of lens stacks and the plurality of lens stacks forms separate optical channels for each focal plane in the sensor;

varying the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor;

capturing images of a known target using a plurality of active focal planes at different spatial relationships between the lens stack array and the sensor, where the known target includes at least one region of interest;

scoring the images captured by the plurality of active focal planes, where the resulting scores provide a direct comparison of the extent to which at least one region of interest is focused in the images, wherein scoring the images captured by the plurality of active focal planes comprises:

determining preliminary scores for the captured images in accordance with a first criterion;

determining scores for a related set of captured images in accordance with a second criterion; and

extrapolating the preliminary scores as a function of the spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor based on the scores determined for the related set of captured images;

selecting a spatial relationship between the lens stack array and the sensor based upon a comparison of the scores of images captured by a plurality of the active focal planes; and

forming an array camera subassembly in which the lens stack array and the sensor are fixed in the selected spatial relationship.