Abstract

A transparent fluid dibutyl adipate (DBA) is suitable for fabricating the adaptive lens due to its unique deformation under a direct current (DC) electric field. In this report, a DBA liquid microlens array (LMA) with a tunable focal length is demonstrated. A hydrophobic layer deposited in the ring array patterns on the electrode induced the formation of the DBA liquid microdroplets array self-assembly. The electronegative DBA liquid tends to move to the anode at a DC voltage. The proposed DBA LMA with a diameter of 100 µm can change its focal length from 0.92 to 1.42 mm when the voltage changes from 0 to 200 V. The response time is relatively fast (${\sim}{790}\;{\rm ms}$). Due to the high optical transmittance (${\sim}{91}\%$) and good thermal stability in the temperature range of ${-}{24.8 {-} 161.5}^\circ$C, our DBA LMA shows good focusing properties and has potential applications in the field of image processing, portable electronic devices, beam steering, ophthalmology, and 3D displays.

© 2022 Optica Publishing Group

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