Tubular astigmatism-tunable fluidic lens

We demonstrate a new means to fabricate three-dimensional liquid lenses which may be tuned in focal length and astigmatism. Using actuation by electrowetting-on-dielectrics, astigmatism in arbitrary directions may be tuned independently, with almost no cross talk between orthogonal orientations. The lens is based on electrodes structured on planar polyimide foils and subsequently rolled, enabling high-resolution patterning of complex electrodes along the azimuthal and radial directions of the lens. Based on a design established through fluidic and optical simulations, the astigmatism tuning is experimentally verified by a change of the corresponding Zernike coefficients measured using a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. It was seen that the back focal length can be tuned by 5 mm and 0 degrees and 45 degrees astigmatism by 3 mu m through application of voltages in the range of 50 V-rms. It was observed that the cross talk with other aberrations is very low, suggesting a novel means for astigmatism control in imaging systems. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America