Abstract
Micro-scale optical components play a crucial role in imaging and display technology, biosensing, beam shaping, optical switching, wavefront-analysis, and device miniaturization. Herein, we demonstrate liquid compound micro-lenses with dynamically tunable focal lengths. We employ bi-phase emulsion droplets fabricated from immiscible hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon liquids to form responsive micro-lenses that can be reconfigured to focus or scatter light, form real or virtual images, and display variable focal lengths. Experimental demonstrations of dynamic refractive control are complemented by theoretical analysis and wave-optical modelling. Additionally, we provide evidence of the micro-lenses’ functionality for two potential applications—integral micro-scale imaging devices and light field display technology—thereby demonstrating both the fundamental characteristics and the promising opportunities for fluid-based dynamic refractive micro-scale compound lenses.
Highlights
Micro-scale optical components play a crucial role in imaging and display technology, biosensing, beam shaping, optical switching, wavefront-analysis, and device miniaturization
Dynamic lensing materials based on hydrogels and liquids can be reshaped through various external stimuli after the optical element is formed, which is ideal for adaptive optics, imaging devices or sensors[14,22,23,24]
We demonstrate the adjustability in focal length of the lenses as well as their microscopic and macroscopic light manipulation characteristics
Summary
Micro-scale optical components play a crucial role in imaging and display technology, biosensing, beam shaping, optical switching, wavefront-analysis, and device miniaturization. Tunable micro-lens designs employed as responsive in-line, phase-modulating, intensity-preserving components will extend the light manipulation capabilities of optical systems[10] To this end, optofluidic devices using dynamic fluid lens materials represent an ideal platform to create versatile, reconfigurable, refractive optical components[17,18]. The complex droplet lenses can be fabricated on a large scale using a temperature-induced phase separation technique appropriate for combinations of liquids having a relatively low upper critical solution temperature[46] Most importantly, such complex droplets can be dynamically reconfigured between double emulsion and Janus (two-sided) morphologies through application of external stimuli, which makes these droplets very promising as highly tunable compound lenses. We demonstrate the adjustability in focal length of the lenses as well as their microscopic and macroscopic light manipulation characteristics
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