Murade C U, van der Ende D, Mugele F
Physics of Complex Fluids, MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7521 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Opt Express. 2012 Jul 30;20(16):18180-7. doi: 10.1364/OE.20.018180.
Liquid microlenses are attractive for adaptive optics because they offer the potential for both high speed actuation and parallelization into large arrays. Yet, in conventional designs, resonances of the liquid and the complexity of driving mechanisms and/or the device architecture have hampered a successful integration of both aspects. Here we present an array of up to 100 microlenses with synchronous modulation of the focal length at frequencies beyond 1 kHz using electrowetting. Our novel concept combines pinned contact lines at the edge of each microlens with an electrowetting controlled regulation of the pressure that actuates all microlenses in parallel. This design enables the development of various shapes of microlenses. The design presented here has potential applications in rapid parallel optical switches, artificial compound eye and three dimensional imaging.
液体微透镜对于自适应光学具有吸引力，因为它们兼具高速驱动以及并行集成到大型阵列中的潜力。然而，在传统设计中，液体的共振以及驱动机制和/或器件架构的复杂性阻碍了这两个方面的成功整合。在此，我们展示了一个由多达100个微透镜组成的阵列，利用电润湿实现了在超过1kHz频率下对焦距的同步调制。我们的新颖概念将每个微透镜边缘处的固定接触线与通过电润湿控制的压力调节相结合，该压力可并行驱动所有微透镜。这种设计能够开发出各种形状的微透镜。本文所展示的设计在快速并行光开关、人造复眼和三维成像方面具有潜在应用。
