Soft Tunable Lenses Based on Zipping Electroactive Polymer Actuators.

ABSTRACT: Compact and entirely soft optics with tunable and adaptive properties drive the development of life-like soft robotic systems. Yet, existing approaches are either slow, require rigid components, or use high operating voltages of several kilovolts. Here, soft focus-tunable lenses are introduced, which operate at practical voltages, cover a high range of adjustable focal lengths, and feature response times in the milliseconds range. The nature-inspired design comprises a liquid-filled elastomeric lens membrane, which is inflated by zipping electroactive polymers to tune the focal length. An analytic description of the tunable lens supports optimized designs and accurate prediction of the lens characteristics. Focal length changes between 22 and 550 mm (numerical aperture 0.14-0.005) within 2

SUBMITTER: Hartmann F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7856880 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature