Introduction to Adaptive Lenses

Preface

A lens is an important optical device. It has been widely used in imaging processing, optical communication, information storage, beam steering, vision correction, 3D displays, and other scientific applications. The market of optical lenses is huge, and the demand of optical lenses has been growing continually. For a conventional solid lens, its focal length is fixed. To get a variable focal length, a lens system is required. The focal length of the lens system is changed by tuning the distance of the adjacent lenses. However, the lens system has some drawbacks: It is inconvenient, inefficient, bulky, and costly. In comparison, an adaptive lens can function as a lens system with the advantages of compact structure, high efficiency, easy operation, light weight, and low cost. On the other hand, the development of novel optical and electronic products has evoked a new concept lens. Conventional solid lenses are insufficient due to their inherent shortcomings. Due to these reasons, adaptive lenses have been investigated extensively in recent decades. Currently, various approaches for adaptive lenses have been demonstrated. Tunable-focus adaptive lenses have potential applications in cellular phone cameras, webcams, mini projectors, machine vision, eyeglasses, 3D displays, and other lab-on-a-chip devices. There is no doubt that adaptive lenses will play an increasingly more important role in the era of optical technology.

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