Adaptive liquid lens actuated by photo-polymer

An adaptive liquid lens actuated by a photo-polymer is demonstrated. The lens cell consists of a top glass substrate and a bottom plastic slab with two holes: reservoir hole and lens hole, which are sealed with elastic membranes. A photo-sensitive polymer is attached to the membrane of the reservoir hole. Under blue light irradiation, the polymer is bent which exerts a pressure to regulate the curvature of the membrane on the lens hole and then change the focal length of the plano-convex lens. The focal length is tunable from infinity to 21.2 mm in seconds. Non-mechanical driving, easy integration with other optical components and compact system are the key features of this lens. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America