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Hayden Berge Varioptic PDF
Hayden Berge Varioptic PDF
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Conference Paper in Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) · January 2005
DOI: 10.1109/MEMSYS.2005.1453908 · Source: IEEE Xplore
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Abstract : The principle of liquid lenses based on electrowetting will be presented, with emphasis on the key features that
enables to produce a useful component for complex optical systems: equality of the densities of the two non miscible
liquids, centering mean for the liquid-liquid interface which allows the optical axis to remain always stable, choice of the
suitable insulating material for the supporting body etc… We will present experimental results discussed in the light of a
modelization.
Water phase γ
θ
glass
Oil phase ~V θ
Electrode
e(r)
Insulator r1 r2
Water phase
Oil phase
(a) (b) r
228
“r” is the drop radius and de/dr is the gradient of tension, θ is the contact angle of the drop on the surface
thickness. This calculation gives only an order of (material property) and r is the drop radius. The curvatures
magnitude and should be taken as a rough estimate. are counted positively if directed towards the interior of the
Nevertheless, if one plugs reasonable orders of cavity, for instance in the particular case of the fig. 4a
magnitude, one can obtain the equivalent “spring” geometry, c0>0. Eq. 5 is an exact result in the simplified
constant for the mechanical centering, which would be 2D model. The Eq. 5 shows that a solid surface which
defined as curvature is outside of the tangent sphere will produce
stable centering mean of the liquid drop, whereas the
∆E= 1/2 Κ s2 (4) surfaces which are inside the tangent sphere will give
unstable drops.
K Would be estimated as K ~ 0,1 N/m
s
There is no friction force to compare to K at this stage, s
rather this value will be useful for relative comparisons.
curvature s
c0 ξ
90 curvature
c
80
contact angle θ (deg.)
70
a b c
60
50 Figure 4: (a) general stability analysis of the drop center,
40 on a given surface. The surface is assumed to have a full
30 rotational symmetry around the vertical axis (optical axis).
20 The tangent sphere curvature c0 is counted positively on
10 the figure, whereas the curvature of the real supporting
0
surface “c” is counted negatively. (b) examples of surfaces
30 50 70 90 110
which are self-centering the drop, according to Eq. (5):
conical recess, cylindrical hole, toroidal cavity etc… . (c)
Voltage (V)
Examples of surfaces on which the drop will be unstable
(non self centering).
Figure 3: electrowetting curves with gradient In the case of a conical recess, the situation for the drop is
(squares) or without gradient (circles). The to be always stable at the centre whatever the contact angle
electrowetting response is lower with the gradient, as θ. The energy of an off-centred drop is then given by
the relevant dielectric thickness, at the wetting contact
line, increases with voltage. ∆E= 2 γ sinξ sinθ s2 (6)
where ξ is the cone angle (see fig. 4 for definition), and the
equivalent spring constant can also been estimated as K ~
Centering by the geometry 0,2N/m for a 45° cone angle.
229
Geometries could also vary a lot: according to the
4,6 15,1
formula of Eq. 5, one could use several kind of
surfaces, conical with any cone angle: Eq. 6 shows 4,5 15
that whatever the cone angle ξ, providing it is a cavity
Y (mm)
4,4 14,9
X (mm)
(ξ>0), the cone will make a stabilization of the drop.
At the limit of the cone angle ξ= π/2, the shape would 4,3 14,8
then be a piece of cylinder. More complex shapes
4,2 14,7
could be also chosen as toroidal structures etc…Figure
4 (b) and (c) shows examples of suitable and not 4,1 14,6
suitable surfaces respectively. 15 20 25 30 35 40
Z (mm)
4. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Figure 6: XYZ position of the focus of a laser beam
On Figure 5, one can see an experimental measurement passing through the lens, during a voltage cycle: at V=0,
on an actual lens made with an parylene layer 5 µm Z=34mm, Z decreasing when voltage increases.
thick. The experimental points are shown, recorded
during a cycle. 5. CONCLUSIONS
20
used as an optical element in a more complex system.
15
10 6. REFERENCES
5
230