Tunable polymer lens

Beadie, G.; Sandrock, M.; Wiggins, Michael J.; Lepkowicz, Richard S.; Shirk, James S.; Ponting, Michael; Yang, Yucheng; Kaźmierczak, T.; Hiltner, A.; Baer, E.

doi:10.1364/oe.16.011847

Cited by 144 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A number of other tunable devices have considered the astigmatism. For example, Beadie et al 4 presented a tunable composite lens, one part being a fixed focal length lens made of poly(methylmetacrylate) and the tunable part using a membrane with a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) elastomer as a filling; the surface profiles showed an inherent astigmatism.Alternatively, singlet polymer lenses with thermal actuation have been reported by Lee et al 5 By choosing an anisotropic heater structure, Lee et al were able to tune astigmatism along one axis, while the other axis remains fixed. A more versatile approach with a combination of several membrane lenses was pursued by Marks et al 6 Here two perpendicularly oriented cylindrical lenses provide variable astigmatism, whose total focus is compensated with a rotational symmetric membrane lens.…”

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Elastomeric lenses with tunable astigmatism

et al. 2013

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Microlenses fabricated using flexible elastomers can be tuned in focal length by application of controlled strain. By varying the strain azimuthally, the lenses may be deformed asymmetrically such that aberrations may be controlled. This approach is used to tune the astigmatism of the tunable lenses, and it is shown that the generated wavefront may be accurately controlled. The lens presented here has an initial focal length of 32.6 mm and a tuning range of 12.3 mm for approximately 10% applied strain. The range of directly tunable Zernike polynomials representing astigmatism is about 3 mm, while the secondary lens errors, which cannot be tuned directly, vary only by about 0.2 mm. Light: Science & Applications (2013) 2, e98; doi:10.1038/lsa.2013.54; published online 13 September 2013Keywords: aberrations; active or adaptive optics; micro-optical devices; polymers INTRODUCTION A broad spectrum of tunable micro-optical components using a wide variety of physical effects has been proposed and demonstrated. 1 One approach with considerable potential is the mechanical deformation of microlenses entirely made of flexible elastomers: by controlled application of radial strain, resulting in a change in lens curvature, it has been shown that the focal length can be tuned over a considerable range. 2,3 To date, strain has only been applied symmetrically around these tunable elastomeric lenses, such that only refractive power (focal length), but not other optical properties, have been tuned. A number of other tunable devices have considered the astigmatism. For example, Beadie et al. 4 presented a tunable composite lens, one part being a fixed focal length lens made of poly(methylmetacrylate) and the tunable part using a membrane with a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) elastomer as a filling; the surface profiles showed an inherent astigmatism.Alternatively, singlet polymer lenses with thermal actuation have been reported by Lee et al. 5 By choosing an anisotropic heater structure, Lee et al. were able to tune astigmatism along one axis, while the other axis remains fixed. A more versatile approach with a combination of several membrane lenses was pursued by Marks et al. 6 Here two perpendicularly oriented cylindrical lenses provide variable astigmatism, whose total focus is compensated with a rotational symmetric membrane lens.We show here that application of azimuthally varying strain to a deformable elastomer lens can result in controlled variation of aberrations, particularly astigmatism. As a result, the microlens is not only tunable in focal length, but the concomitant aberrations can be increased or decreased at will.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Elastomeric lenses with tunable astigmatism

et al. 2013

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“…Limited by the characteristics of liquids, the liquid-toliquid interface can hardly be directly measured by laser range finder or mechanical profiler which is normally used for solid microlenses. 6,7 Here, we report on the use of a Shack-Hartmann wave front sensor for performing accurate 3D surface profiling of the liquid-liquid interfaces in liquid microlenses. To demonstrate our method, the example we used was a variable-focus liquid microlens actuated by thermoresponsive hydrogels.…”

Section: 2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Three-dimensional surface profiling and optical characterization of liquid microlens using a Shack–Hartmann wave front sensor

Hall

Zeng

et al. 2011

Applied Physics Letters

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We demonstrate three-dimensional ͑3D͒ surface profiling of the water-oil interface in a tunable liquid microlens using a Shack-Hartmann wave front sensor. The principles and the optical setup for achieving 3D surface measurements are presented and a hydrogel-actuated liquid lens was measured at different focal lengths. The 3D surface profiles are then used to study the optical properties of the liquid lens. Our method of 3D surface profiling could foster the improvement of liquid lens design and fabrication, including surface treatment and aberration reduction. © 2011 American Institute of Physics. ͓doi:10.1063/1.3583379͔Liquid-based variable-focus microlenses are emerging as important components in optical imaging due to their compact structure, high transmission and simple fabrication. 1,2Variable-focus liquid microlenses have been demonstrated by different mechanisms, including mechanical-wetting using liquid pressure, 3 electrowetting of a liquid droplet 2,4 and actuation of stimuli-responsive materials. 5 The optical properties of a liquid lens depend heavily on its geometric profile which is determined by many fabrication factors, such as surface smoothness and control of surface wetting. Accurate three-dimensional ͑3D͒ profiling, therefore, is critical to the optimization of the fabrication process and the optical properties of liquid microlenses. Conventional goniometers are incapable of 3D measurements, and they are not applicable where the surrounding structure has poor optical transparency. Limited by the characteristics of liquids, the liquid-toliquid interface can hardly be directly measured by laser range finder or mechanical profiler which is normally used for solid microlenses. 6,7 Here, we report on the use of a Shack-Hartmann wave front sensor for performing accurate 3D surface profiling of the liquid-liquid interfaces in liquid microlenses. To demonstrate our method, the example we used was a variable-focus liquid microlens actuated by thermoresponsive hydrogels. 5,8,9 A physical model is presented to calculate the surface profile from the obtained wave front profile through the liquid lens. The hydrogel-actuated liquid microlens was measured at focal lengths of 15.2 mm, 23.0 mm, and 34.7 mm, respectively. The liquid-liquid interface was found to have good spherical shape at the center, but become highly linear near the margin of the aperture. The measured water-oil interface was studied by simulation software and the simulated focal length and aberration coefficients are well matched with experiment results. The spherical aberration of the liquid lens was found to increase with decreasing focal lengths. The 3D surface profiling using Shack-Hartmann wave front sensor accomplishes a comprehensive analysis of the surface and determination of optical properties of liquid microlenses. Figure 1͑a͒ shows the cross section schematic and an image of the tunable liquid microlens actuated by a thermoresponsive hydrogel. The fabrication process was based on liquid phase photopolymerization. 8 The inner s...

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“…The first kind of solid tunable lenses are realized by simply deforming the solid lens by a thermal effect or external strain. (38)(39)(40)(41) However, because they are constrained by the maximum deformation that can be achieved by either thermal actuation or external strains, such a type of solid tunable lenses can only provide a limited tuning range of focal lengths, which is obviously far from the requirement of most practical applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Miniature Solid Tunable Lenses and Their Applications: A Review

Yongchao¹,

Siong²,

Guangya³

2017

Sensors and Materials

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We present a systematic review of solid tunable lenses based on the Alvarez-Lohmann principle, which mainly focuses on the optimization, miniaturization, and integration of such solid tunable lenses in miniature applications. The progress of the modelling and design methods of such solid tunable lenses for optimum performance is summarized first. The development of various solid tunable lenses achieved using diverse driving mechanisms and different optimization methods is then illustrated by examples from current literature. The mechanisms, performance, and practicability of all these prototypes are presented in detail. The applications of such solid tunable lenses in miniature imaging systems are finally reviewed. Discussions of the problems and bottlenecks encountered in current research work and perspectives for future work in this field are given.

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Tunable polymer lens

Cited by 144 publications

References 18 publications

Elastomeric lenses with tunable astigmatism

Elastomeric lenses with tunable astigmatism

Three-dimensional surface profiling and optical characterization of liquid microlens using a Shack–Hartmann wave front sensor

Miniature Solid Tunable Lenses and Their Applications: A Review

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