A focus-switchable lens made of polymer–liquid crystal composite

Abstract: A focus-switchable liquid crystal (LC) lens made of polymer–LC composite was fabricated by a molding technique. The focus-switchable LC lens fabricated had a diameter of 6.0mm and center thickness of 67μm. The focal length obtained was about 48cm. The lens showed good optical properties and strong polarization dependence. Its focus can be switched either by applying a low driving voltage (about 3V) or by changing the polarization of the incident light. Such focus-switchable polymer–LC lens fabricated by this kind of technique is potentially useful in many optical systems, such as optical tweezers, machine vision, eye glasses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]