B. H. W. HENDRIKS, S. KUIPER, M. A. J. VAN AS, C. A. RENDERS and T. W. TUKKER

Philips Research Laboratories, Prof. Holstlaan 4, 5656 AA Eindhoven, The Netherlands

(Received October 12, 2004; Accepted April 8, 2005)

The meniscus between two immiscible liquids of different refractive indices can be used as a lens. A change in curvature of this meniscus by electrostatic control of the solid/liquid interfacial tension leads to a change in focal distance. It is demonstrated that two liquids in a tube form a self-centred variable-focus lens. The optical properties of this lens were investigated experimentally. We designed and constructed a miniature camera module based on this variable lens suitable for mobile applications. Furthermore, the liquid lens was applied in a Blu-ray Disc optical recording system to enable dual layer disc reading/writing.

Key words: liquid lens, electrowetting, camera, optical recording