iPhone fans have complained about Lens glare forever and a day. A 2021 Dogcow-Moof report provides many examples of lens flare on iPhones. In 2024, leaker Yeux1122 claimed that Apple was testing a new camera lens coating that could remedy lens flare. It was then rumored that this solution would be coming to the iPhone 16 Pro – but it didn’t. An Apple fan on a MacRumors Forum made it clear that the issue was not remedied hon his  iPhone 16 Pro Max. Another rumor bites the dust.

Today the U.S. Patent Office published a patent application of Apple's that relates to “lens flare” and a possible solution that could provide stray light mitigation for camera modules.   

Camera Modules wit Micro-Scale Optically Absorptive Gratings

Apple’s patent application relates to camera modules that include optically absorptive gratings. Some embodiments are directed to a camera module including an image sensor, an optical assembly comprising an optical component and configured to direct light towards the image sensor, and a grating assembly coupled to the optical component. The grating assembly may include, a substrate; an adhesive connecting the substrate to the optical component, and a grating formed from an optically absorptive material and positioned on a top surface of the substrate. The grating includes be an array of protrusions.

In some variations, the array of protrusions is a two-dimensional array. In some of these variations, the two-dimensional array includes a first column having a first plurality of protrusions and a second column having a second plurality of protrusions. The first column is staggered with respect to the second column. Additionally or alternatively, each protrusion of the array of protrusions has a pyramid shape. In other variations, the array of protrusions is a one-dimensional array. The optical component is separated from the grating by an air gap. In some variations, the optical component is a prism.

Other embodiments are directed to a camera module that includes an image sensor and an optical assembly that includes a prism formed from an optically transparent material, wherein the optical assembly is configured such that light entering the optical assembly reflects off a surface of the prism via total internal reflection. The camera module includes an optically absorptive grating positioned to face the surface, wherein the grating includes an array of protrusions. In some variations, each protrusion of the array of protrusions has a height of at least 15 microns.

In some variations, the camera module includes a substrate, wherein the optically absorptive grating is positioned on a top surface of the substrate. In some of these variations, the array of protrusions is at least partially formed from the substrate. The optically absorptive grating may include a coating of an optically absorptive material positioned on the top surface of the substrate. In some variations, some or all of the protrusions of the array of protrusions have a triangular cross-sectional shape. In other variations, some or all of the protrusions of the array of protrusions are cones.

A few of Apple’s Inventors

• Yoshikazu Shinohara: Camera Engineer
• Chenglin Zhang: Optical Engineer
• Andrej Halabica: Optical Engineer (now at Meta)
• Ligang Wang: Optical Engineering Manager