Projects
Ultra-thin Alvarez lens system actuated by artificial muscles
Project description
A key feature of Alvarez lenses is that they may be tuned in focal length using lateral rather than axial translation, thus reducing the overall length of a focus-tunable optical system. To reduce the overall device thickness, this project uses Liquid crystal elastomer micro actuators to actuate the molded Alvarez lens. The miniaturized actuators generate a large in-plane deflection of the molded mechanical suspension and Alvarez lens. Compared to traditional actuators, this allows a considerable reduction of the thickness of this focus-tunable lens. The project is conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Technical Optics, Technical University of Ilmenau.
Start/End of project
01.11.2013 until 31.01.2016
Project manager
Prof. Dr. Hans Zappe
Contact person
Sebastian Petsch, Adrian Grewe, Luis Köbele
Phone:7560
Funding
DFG
Keywords
Liquid crystal elastomer, micro-actuators, Alvarez lens