In order to solve the polarization-related problems of liquid crystal lenses and the leakage problems of liquid lenses, this paper proposes a fabrication method of high-performance varifocal microlens arrays based on integrated PDMS gels and parallel PZT driver. When the driving voltage of the PZT piezoelectric ceramic is changed, the surface profile of the PDMS gel in the PZT will change accordingly, resulting in the change of the focal length of the lens. Experiments show that the PDMS gel lens has good imaging quality, small distortion, and an approximately linear relationship the focal length of PDMS gel lens and the voltage applied to the PZT piezoelectric ceramic. The focal length changes from -60V to 60V is 12.6mm~219.5mm. This lens is compact, simple to make, low cost, and has good optical performance. It can be widely used in camera equipment, mobile phone cameras, tablets, drones, surveillance and other smart devices.
Polydimethyl-siloxane (PDMS) fabricated with different preparation methods, which include that the weight ratio of the main agent and curing agent, the curing temperature or the curing time is different, have different material properties. We demonstrate a high-performance adaptive lens for imaging based on the physical and chemical properties of a new proportion of the main agent and curing agent of PDMS. A flexible and plastic PDMS gel based on the weight ratio of the base and the curing agent of 80:1 is prepared as the lens material, Iris Diaphragm (ID) is chosen as the driver. Driving the lever of the iris diaphragm, when the aperture is reduced from 3.94mm to 3.58mm, the PDMS gel surface gradually bulges, the focal length of the lens is reduced from infinite to 10mm. In addition, the resolution of the lens is 161.5 lp/mm. Compared with other types of adaptive lenses, such as liquid crystal and liquid lenses, gel-type adaptive lenses have the advantages of large focusing dynamic range, good optical performance, good stability, compact structure, simple production, and low cost.
A liquid device using two immiscible dielectric liquids is prepared. One liquid is black and forms a droplet on a glass substrate. The other liquid is used to fill the surrounding of the droplet. When a fringing field is applied to the device, the droplet is stretched by a dielectric force. The droplet can switch a probing beam. Our results show that the optical switch exhibits a hysteresis. The width of the hysteresis is dependent on the amplitude of the voltage, the frequency, and the viscosity of the surrounded liquid. By controlling the hysteresis, our device has potential applications in light shutters, optical attenuators, and displays.
A switchable-focus lenticular microlens array (LMA) is an essential component for switchable 2D/3D displays. For 2D display, the LMA has no optical power and it functions as an optical flat plate. To achieve 3D display, each microlens in the array has a focusing effect. Various approaches for preparing LMAs were demonstrated. In this report, we mainly introduce two types of LMAs: polymeric LMA and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/dibutyl phthalate (DBP) LMA. The polymeric LMA is optically anisotropic and solidified. When it integrates with a twisted-nematic liquid crystal (TN LC) polarized rotator, a switchable focus with a low driving voltage and fast response time can be obtained. As a comparison, the PVC/DBP LMA is optically isotropic and adaptive. Its focal length can be largely changed by reconfiguring its surface profile using a DC voltage. Both LMAs have the merits of compact structure, simple fabrication, and good optical performance. The operation mechanism of each LMA is introduced and their performances are evaluated. They both have potential applications in switchable 2D/3D displays.
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