Liquid crystal lens with variable focal length

A lens structure includes a transparent cell containing a liquid crystal material. The cell is thicker in a center region thereof than at peripheral regions. The structure further includes transparent electrically conductive electrodes coupled with opposing top and bottom surfaces of the cell and co...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser:	Gordon, Michael S, Knickerbocker, John U, Polastre, Robert, Lu, Minhua
Format:	Patent
Sprache:	eng
Schlagworte:	DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS, THE OPTICAL OPERATION OF WHICH ISMODIFIED BY CHANGING THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIUM OF THEDEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF THE INTENSITY,COLOUR, PHASE, POLARISATION OR DIRECTION OF LIGHT, e.g.SWITCHING, GATING, MODULATING OR DEMODULATING FREQUENCY-CHANGING NON-LINEAR OPTICS OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS OPTICS PHYSICS TECHNIQUES OR PROCEDURES FOR THE OPERATION THEREOF
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:	A lens structure includes a transparent cell containing a liquid crystal material. The cell is thicker in a center region thereof than at peripheral regions. The structure further includes transparent electrically conductive electrodes coupled with opposing top and bottom surfaces of the cell and configured to establish an electric field through the cell that is strongest at the peripheral regions where the cell is thinner relative to the center region so that a value of the index of refraction of the liquid crystal material changes across the cell from the center region towards the peripheral regions to change an effective focal length of the lens structure. In some embodiments the top surface of the cell has a first curvature C1 and the bottom surface of the cell has a second curvature C2 that differs from the first curvature.