A thin film active-lens with translational control for dynamically programmable optical zoom

We demonstrate a thin film active-lens for rapidly and dynamically controllable optical zoom. The active-lens is composed of a convex hemispherical polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) lens structure working as an aperture and a dielectric elastomer (DE) membrane actuator, which is a combination of a thin DE layer made with PDMS and a compliant electrode pattern using silver-nanowires. The active-lens is capable of dynamically changing focal point of the soft aperture as high as 18.4% through its translational movement in vertical direction responding to electrically induced bulged-up deformation of the DE membrane actuator. Under operation with various sinusoidal voltage signals, the movement responses are fairly consistent with those estimated from numerical simulation. The responses are not only fast, fairly reversible, and highly durable during continuous cyclic operations, but also large enough to impart dynamic focus tunability for optical zoom in microscopic imaging devices with a light-weight and ultra-slim configuration.