Electrically Tunable Lenses: A Review

Optical lenses with electrically controllable focal length are of growing interest, in order to reduce the complexity, size, weight, response time and power consumption of conventional focusing/zooming systems, based on glass lenses displaced by motors. They might become especially relevant for diverse robotic and machine vision-based devices, including cameras not only for portable consumer electronics (e.g. smart phones) and advanced optical instrumentation (e.g. microscopes, endoscopes, etc.), but also for emerging applications like small/micro-payload drones and wearable virtual/augmented-reality systems. This paper reviews the most widely studied strategies to obtain such varifocal “smart lenses”, which can electrically be tuned, either directly or via electro-mechanical or electro-thermal coupling. Only technologies that ensure controllable focusing of multi-chromatic light, with spatial continuity (i.e. continuous tunability) in wavefronts and focal lengths, as required for visible-range imaging, are considered. Both encapsulated fluid-based lenses and fully elastomeric lenses are reviewed, ranging from proof-of-concept prototypes to commercially available products. They are classified according to the focus-changing principles of operation, and they are described and compared in terms of advantages and drawbacks. This systematic overview should help to stimulate further developments in the field.

Study on the Performance of Optical Lenses under High Fluxes of Solar Radiation

This work compares the performance of optical lenses made of silica glass or borosilicate glass (BK-7) when submitted to high-flux radiation emitted by a xenon arc lamp or provided by a high-concentration solar tower. Each irradiation test lasted for 60 min, with continuous monitoring of the radiation-flux incident on the lenses and the temperature generated in their vicinity. All silica glass lenses showed a good performance with both irradiation sources, xenon arc lamp and natural solar radiation, contrary to what was observed with the lenses made of borosilicate glass which fractured when irradiated with a xenon arc lamp. The negative behavior observed with the borosilicate lenses is attributed to the fact that the radiation spectrum of a xenon arc lamp contains certain wavelengths, in the near ultraviolet (UV) region, that are not present in the natural solar radiation spectrum at sea level.

Research on the optical grinding and polishing technology of spherical mirror based on alloy steel materials

In Vietnam, the technology of fabricating spherical surfaces of glass lenses by the loose abrasive grinding method has been researched and widely applied. However, this technology does not really match the needs of grinding and polishing optically the sphere on the basis of alloy steel. This paper introduces some initial results in researching the technology of optical mirror polishing of alloy steel materials. The issues studied include the selection of processing methods and equipment, design and manufacture of auxiliary tools and machining tools, testing and setting up machining processes, and the methodology for characterisation product quality. A spherical mirror of 50 mm in diameter, 70 mm in spherical radius, based on alloy steel material has been optically polished. Test results show that the sample meets the requirements for optical products (N=1; ΔN=1, surface roughness Rz=0.05 μm).

The Great 19th-Century Green Spectacle Craze

Long before mirrored sunglasses were adopted as a fashion in the 20th century, spectacles with dark green glass lenses were a popular fad in the 19th. We look at several examples, cited in the writings of famous authors of the period. Dark Green lenses were not only viewed as providing relief for bright light, were held to project a certain sophistication of appearance, and they had novelty value that made them popular. But why did dark glasses become such an affectation in the 19th century, and not earlier? What did it suggest?

Pre-Compensation of Mold in Precision Glass Molding Based on Mathematical Analysis

Precision glass molding is the most appropriate method for batch production of glass lenses with high surface accuracy and qualified optical performance. However, the form error caused by material expansion and contraction is the main factor affecting the precision of the molded lenses, thus the mold must be pre-compensated. In this paper, an effective method of mold pre-compensation based on mathematical analysis is established. Based on the thermal expansion curve of D-ZK3 glass, the freezing fictive temperature of the glass under the actual cooling rate is measured, and the mold pre-compensation factor can be quickly calculated. Experimental results show that the peak valley (PV) value of the surface form error of molded aspheric lens with an aperture of 5.3 mm is effectively reduced from 2.04 μm to 0.31 μm after the pre-compensation, thus meeting the geometric evaluation criterion.

Achieving Highly Stable Removal Rate in Small Tool Polishing of Glass Lenses

The demand for improving the image quality of cameras has increased significantly, especially in industrial applications, such as broadcasting, on-vehicle, security, factory automation, and medicine. Surface of glass lenses, which is a key component of cameras, is formed and finished by polishing using small tools. However, the existing small tool polishing technologies exhibit serious problems including an unstable removal rate with the accumulated polishing time. In concrete, low removal rate at the beginning of the polishing process and sudden decrease in the removal rate during the polishing process significantly deteriorate stability of the removal rate. To improve the stability of the removal rate, we proposed a vibration-assisted polishing method using newly developed polishing pads with titanium dioxide particles in the previous work. Polishing experiments on glass lenses confirmed that the variation in the removal rate was suppressed by the developed polishing method; however, the reason for the improvement, in concrete, the relation between the vibration of polishing pressure and the stability of the removal rate remains unknown. In this study, we investigated and clarified the effect of the vibration of polishing pressure on the surface conditions of polishing pads, which strongly affected removal rate.