Most of lenses embedded in optical devices used today are as hard as a glass and not deformable. Therefore, it is needed to move the positions of the lenses in focusing and zooming. Actual optical devices sometimes become complex and large. Here we improve Double Network gel lens and newly propose deformable lens system by virtue of high-strength, transparent and transformable hydrogels. Shape-Memory gels are applied to the deformable lens systems. The focal length of DN gel lens was controlled by the degree of swelling of gels. In the deformable lens systems a water layer is sandwiched between two gel sheets to compose a variable focus lens. By changing the pressure of the water layer, the radius of convex curvature of the gel sheet surface can be controlled, and the focal length of the lens can be adjusted. Further, the SMG lens can memorize its shape, so that the focal length can be fixed. The DNG and SMG lenses bring new possibilities to develop actuated gel lenses, which are simple and small, but highly functionalized.

Double network (DN) gels are anomalously robust but soft and wet materials, whose maximum stress in compression reaches 30MPa and surface friction coefficient reaches 0.001 simultaneously. The DN gels also have shock absorbency, permeability, and biocompatibility. Thus it is expected that the DN gels will be applied to artificial joints, artificial cartilages, and artificial blood vessels. In this study we focused on both high transparency and large transformation of the DN gels, and we tried to develop novel optical devices. Our purpose is to apply it to a deformable lens system. Indeed, we succeed to make an artificial gel lens, which is nontoxic and have biocompatibility. The value of strain of the gel lens can achieve more than 2, and Young's moduli of our two kinds of DN gels show 0.45MPa and 0.46 10 -1 MPa, which is enough higher than human lens. We will realize further miniaturization and simplification of various optical products containing the gel lens.

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