Physicists from China presented a new type of liquid lens
Miscellaneous / / January 21, 2022
It will allow you to abandon several separate modules in smartphones.
The focal length of the liquid lens can be changedVariable-focus liquid lens based on electrically responsive fluidby applying electric current. As a result, the same lens can be used for both macro and telephoto - for example, architectural landmarks or landscapes.
The idea of liquid lenses is not new. Many developments imitated Liquid Lens Technology Improves Iris Recognition the lens of the eye, the radius of curvature of which changes due to the work of muscles and ciliary ligaments. As a result, the eye can focus on objects that are at different distances from it.
In the early 2000s, companies began to develop liquid lens technologies that could be applied to real devices. One of the first lenses with liquid lenses received a smartphone Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold.
The new work describes a fundamentally different technology. The adaptive liquid lens is an annular electrode filled with dibutyl adipate (DBA). This is a substance with an electronegative molecular structure, which can change shape when a current is applied.
The electrode is coated with a water-repellent composition, and due to this, dibutyl adipate takes the form of a dome. When a voltage is applied to the electrode, the molecules collect at one end of the tube. The shape of the dome changes, and with it the focal length. And as soon as the tension disappears, the liquid returns to its original form.
In experiments, physicists have achieved a change in the focal length of a liquid lens from 7.5 mm to 13.1 mm under the action of a voltage of up to 100 V. The lens transmitted up to 95% of visible light and provided a resolution of up to 29 lines per millimeter (≈736 lines per inch). The scientists also checked that the lens works effectively at temperatures of 20–100 °C.
The advantages of the new lens are simplicity of design and compactness. This technology is easier to use than what has been used before, which means that the chances are higher that it will one day appear in smartphones.
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