Adaptive Liquid Lens Actuated by Droplet Movement

In this paper we report an adaptive liquid lens actuated by droplet movement. Four rectangular PMMA (Polymethyl Methacrylate) substrates are stacked to form the device structure. Two ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) sheets stick on the bottom substrate. One PMMA sheet with a light hole is inserted in the middle of the device. A conductive droplet is placed on the substrate and touches the PMMA sheet to form a small closed reservoir. The reservoir is filled with another immiscible non-conductive liquid. The non-conductive liquid can form a smooth concave interface with the light hole. When the device is applied with voltage, the droplet stretches towards the reservoir. The volume of the reservoir reduces, changing the curvature of the interface. The device can thus achieve the function of an adaptive lens. Our experiments show that the focal length can be varied from −10 to −159 mm as the applied voltage changes from 0 to 65 V. The response time of the liquid lens is ~75 ms. The proposed device has potential applications in many fields such as information displays, imaging systems, and laser scanning systems.