Design and wavefront characterization of an electrically tunable aspherical optofluidic lens

Abstract

We present a novel design of an exclusively electrically controlled adaptive optofluidic lens that allows for manipulating both focal length and asphericity. The device is totally encapsulated and contains an aqueous lens with a clear aperture of 2mm immersed in ambient oil. The design is based on the combination of an electrowetting-driven pressure regulation to control the average curvature of the lens and a Maxwell stress-based correction of the local curvature to control spherical aberration. The performance of the lens is evaluated by a dedicated setup for the characterization of optical wavefronts using a Shack Hartmann Wavefront Sensor. The focal length of the device can be varied between 10 and 27mm. At the same time, the Zernike coefficient Z40, characterising spherical aberration, can be tuned reversibly between 0.059waves and 0.003waves at a wavelength of λ=532nm. Several possible extensions and applications of the device are discussed.