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The theory behind liquid lens is based on the properties of one or more
fluids to create magnifications within a small amount of space. Liquid lens
can be considered as "infinitely variables" lens with variable focus, and
the focus is controlled without using any moving parts. The focus of a
liquid lens is controlled by the surface of the liquid. Water forms naturally
a bubble shape when adhered to materials such as glass or plastics. This
desirable property makes water a very suitable candidate for the
production of a liquid lens. To generate a liquid lens, a mixture of two
liquids is sandwiched between two pieces of clear plastics or glass. The
second liquid needs to encapsulate the water drop and to fill any free
space or void. It is well known that water and oil do not mix, and oil is
also inexpensive and safe to use. Therefore, oil is chosen to be used as
the other liquid mixture for the liquid lens system. The surface profiles of
the liquids determine the focal length of the liquid lens system, and
ultimately, how the liquid lens focuses light. In other words, by altering the
surface profile of the liquids, the focal length can be adjusted. This is
done by changing the shape and size of the drop of water within the
liquid lens.
The liquid lens technology that we present here could be the solution
to this demanding application.
A new principle of variable lenses with tunable focal length will be
demonstrated : two iso-density non-miscible liquids are trapped inside
a transparent cell. The liquid-liquid interface forms a drop shape. The
natural interfacial tension between liquids produces a smooth optical
interface, which curvature is actuated by electrowetting. In addition, in
order to have a usable lens, it is necessary to incorporate a centering
mechanism, such that optical axis remains stable. Intrinsic physical
limitations will be presented as well as actual performances of the
technology.
Several
applications
will
be
discussed
in
the
What is a liquid
lens?
two
liquids
is
sandwiched
Reflective liquid lenses are actually variable mirrors, and are used in
reflector telescopes in place of traditional glass mirrors. When a
container of fluid (in this case, mercury) is rotated, centripetal force
creates a smooth reflective concavity that is ideally suited for
telescope applications. Normally, such a smooth curved surface has
to be meticulously ground and polished into glass in an extremely
expensive and tricky process (remember the Hubble Space
Telescope mirror fiasco). A reflective liquid lens would never suffer
from that problem, as a simple change in rotation speed would
change the curve of the meniscus to the proper shape. Scientists at
the University of British Columbia (UBC) have built a 236-inch (6meter) Liquid Mirror Telescope (LMT). The world's 13th largest
telescope, its reflective surface is made of a flat container of mercury
spinning at about 5 RPM. The telescope costs only about $1 million, a
significant reduction from the roughly $100 million cost of what a
conventional telescope with a regular solid glass mirror of the same
size would require. Transmissive liquid lenses use two immiscible
fluids, each with a different refractive index, to create variable-focus
lenses of high optical quality as small as 10 pm (microns). The two
fluids, one an electrically conducting aqueous solution and one a
nonconducting oil, are contained in a short tube with transparent end
caps. The interior of the tube and one of the caps is coated with a
hydrophobic material, which causes the aqueous solution to form a
hemispherical lens-shaped mass at the opposite end of the tube. The
WORKING PRINCIPLE:
The magnifying principle of a liquid lens is similar to that of our eye.
When we try to see an object, the light which comes from the object
falls on our eye ball. Our eye ball(pupil) has the ability to contract or
expand itself depending upon the position of the object. Which then
leaves the perfect light ray to fall on the retina which results visibility
of the object.If the pupil cant adjust itself then we are not able to see
the object.The liquid lens acts on the same principle.
00544974
is
dielectric
driven
by
power.
the
Which
The
liquid
lens
high
constant.
dielectric
The
bottom
The
two
liquids
PMMA
(polymethyl
between two ITO glass substrates. The concentric ITO electrodes on the
bottom glass substrate were coated with 1pm thick Teflon to reduce
friction between the droplet and the glass substrate. The width and
spacing of the ITO electrodes was 50pm. The mass density of the sealing
liquid was adjusted to match that of the droplet to minimize the
gravitational effect, since the gravitational effect may induce no uniform
deformation of the droplet profile, causing optical aberrations. As the
voltage was applied, a dielectric force arose on the droplet due to the
difference in the dielectric constant between the two liquids. The
dielectric force shrunk the droplet, increasing the droplet's contact angle
and shortening the focal length of the liquid lens. The dielectric force
induced is described by equation given below
Electro
___________________
...
wetting
o__o__o__o__
________________
Principle:
. ,
WORKING
DIFFERENCE
CONVENTIONAL & LIQUID LENS
BETWEEN
Conventional Camera
2(b) shows that the conic constants of the droplet were close to zero at
various voltages, implying that the droplet maintained a spherical profile
at all focal lengths. Hence, the surface profile of the droplet could be
assumed to be spherical during actuation. The actuation of the droplet in
the liquid lens was captured by a highspeed CCD camera. The rise time
was measured to be about 650ms when the liquid lens was actuated
from the rest state to 200 volts. When the applied voltage was switched
off, the measured fall time was 300ms.
Fig. The measured receding contact angles and advancing contact
angles of the droplet in a liquid lens versus the applied voltages. The
insets show the droplets actuated at various voltages. Left: the droplet
was at the rest state. Right: the droplet was actuated at 200V.
s3
0
0
>
3
O
A
1
=
<
Q
C
3
H
50
100
150
200
Voltage (volt)
Focal length measurement of the liquid lens was conducted using a laser
with
wavelength
of
532nm
and
beam
scanner
(0180-
The focal length was determined for advancing actuation based on the
minimum spot size resolved along the optic axis. Further, the measured
advancing focal lengths were compared with the paraxial approximation
based on the advancing contact angles in Fig. 2. The measurement
results and the paraxial approximation were in good agreement (see Fig.
3). When the voltage increased from zero to 200 volts, the liquid lens
shortened its focal length from 34mm to 12mm. The electric power
consumed was determined to be less than 1mW.
Features:
Low cost
A * M >P1
Applications:
"
E.3
E13
E13i
Varioptic and Sunny Optics announced last week that they were
making the Varioptic Arctic 416 auto focus oil and water lens available
in high-end camera phones. The oil and water lens, which has no
moving parts, replaces traditional mechanical lens focusing systems.
(Oil
uses
electrowetting)
The Varioptic oil and water lens uses a
phenomenon called "electrowetting" to
focus the system. A water droplet is
deposited on a metal substrate covered
by an insulating layer. The voltage
applied to the substrate modifies the
contact angle of the droplet. A liquid lens
uses two liquids with the same density; one is an insulator while the
other is a conductor. The variation of voltage leads to a change of
curvature of the liquid-liquid interface, which in turn leads to a change
of the focal length of the lens.
many
including
advantages
ruggedness
(no
over their
moving
mechanical
parts),
faster
lenses and three fixed plastic lenses and offers a magnification of 2.5
times, while when all four lenses are at their flattest
is
there
nomagnification.
The complete length of the system from outer lens to image sensor is
29mm, but it should be possible to reduce that, says Schreiber.
Varioptic is now considering how to take the design on to
prototype
then
stage.
Conclusion: