Revolution in Optics – Lenses go liquid
Varioptic
There's a revolution afoot in the world of miniaturized optics. For focusing or zooming in and out, it's goodbye to the mechanical components that move the lenses in your camera, and time to welcome their successors with no moving parts. It took inventor Bruno Berge ten years of research and four years of development for the optical system to become fully operational.
How does it work?
Inside a sealed cell, we enclose two immiscible liquids that have the same density: One is a conductor, like water, the other a non-conductor, like oil. We then apply an electrical voltage. The concave interface between the two liquids is very sensitive to the voltage: it changes shape quickly and reversibly... So the quality of the image depends on the voltage applied.
High optical quality and a very wide optical power range, together with a fast response time, are the main advantages of these new lenses. They are also resistant to the harsh treatment (heat or shock) that they may undergo when used on a daily basis in mobile devices such as cell phones, where these lenses have found their first application. The problem is that mechanical systems remain costly (the optical system alone makes up half the price of a digital camera), consume a lot of energy, and are difficult to miniaturize. These are all setbacks that don't affect Varioptic's new lens system.
Certified by major manufacturers of cell phones, particularly in Asia, the lenses are now available on the market.
Varioptic
There's a revolution afoot in the world of miniaturized optics. For focusing or zooming in and out, it's goodbye to the mechanical components that move the lenses in your camera, and time to welcome their successors with no moving parts. It took inventor Bruno Berge ten years of research and four years of development for the optical system to become fully operational.
How does it work?
Inside a sealed cell, we enclose two immiscible liquids that have the same density: One is a conductor, like water, the other a non-conductor, like oil. We then apply an electrical voltage. The concave interface between the two liquids is very sensitive to the voltage: it changes shape quickly and reversibly... So the quality of the image depends on the voltage applied.
High optical quality and a very wide optical power range, together with a fast response time, are the main advantages of these new lenses. They are also resistant to the harsh treatment (heat or shock) that they may undergo when used on a daily basis in mobile devices such as cell phones, where these lenses have found their first application. The problem is that mechanical systems remain costly (the optical system alone makes up half the price of a digital camera), consume a lot of energy, and are difficult to miniaturize. These are all setbacks that don't affect Varioptic's new lens system.
Certified by major manufacturers of cell phones, particularly in Asia, the lenses are now available on the market.
Code:
http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/1011.htm