Naphtyl based high index hydrophobic liquids and transmission recovery agents for liquid lens formulations

A liquid lens device comprising:

• (1) a liquid lens body comprising:
• a base comprising a transparent, electrically insulating material;
• a cover comprising a transparent, electrically insulating material;
• an intermediate layer comprising a glass, a ceramic, or a glass ceramic material, the intermediate layer supporting the base and supporting the cover;
• a bond of the intermediate layer to the cover;
• a layer of insulating material supported by the intermediate layer;
• and
• a chamber defined between the layer of insulating material and the cover;
• (2) a non-conductive liquid located within the chamber, the non-conductive liquid having a conductivity less than about 1×10−8 S/m;
• (3) a recovery agent dispersed within the non-conductive liquid;
• (4) a conductive liquid located on top of the non-conductive liquid within the chamber, the conductive liquid having a conductivity from about 1×10−3 S/m to about 1×102 S/m;
• (5) an interface between the non-conductive liquid and the conductive liquid;
• (6) a common electrode in electrical communication with the conductive liquid;
• and
• (7) a driving electrode positioned along the layer of insulating material,
• wherein the non-conductive liquid, the conductive liquid and the interface are in contact with an inner surface of the layer of insulating material and the layer of insulating material is located between the driving electrode and the chamber such that driving electrode is electrically insulated from the non-conductive liquid and from the conductive liquid via the insulating layer;
• wherein the interface has a shape that is varied via application of an adjustable voltage differential between the driving electrode and the common electrode;
• wherein the conductive and non-conductive liquids are non-miscible such that their partial miscibility is less 2% over a temperature range of −30° C. to 85° C.;
• wherein a refractive index of the non-conductive liquid measured at 589.3 nm is about 1.55 to about 1.70;
• wherein a density of the non-conductive liquid measured at 20° C. is about 0.90 g/cm3 to about 1.25 g/cm3;
• and
• wherein a viscosity of the non-conductive liquid measured at 20° C. is about 5 cSt to about 35 cSt.

A liquid lens device comprising:

• (1) a liquid lens body comprising:
• a well within the lens body, the well comprising a tapered lower section;
• an outer window above the well;
• an inner window below the well;
• an intermediate layer of a glass, a ceramic, or a glass ceramic material, the intermediate layer directly bonded to the outer window;
• a dielectric material defining at least a portion of the tapered lower section of the well;
• and
• an optical axis extending through the inner window and the outer window;
• (2) a liquid lens comprising:
• a non-conductive liquid located within the tapered lower section of the well, the non-conductive liquid having a conductivity less than about 1×10−8 S/m and a first index of refraction, wherein the non-conductive liquid comprises a naphthalene based compound selected from the group consisting of 2-trimethylgermane naphthalene, 1-trimethylgermane naphthalene, 2-triethylgermane naphthalene, 1-triethylgermane naphthalene, 2-trimethylsilane naphthalene, 1-trimethylsilane naphthalene, 2-dimethylbutylsilane naphthalene, 1-dimethylbutylsilane naphthalene, 2-phenyl sulfur naphthalene, 1-phenyl sulfur naphthalene, 2-dimethyloctylsilane naphthalene, 1-dimethyloctylsilane naphthalene, 1-fluoronapthalene, 2-fluoronapthalene, 2-ethylnaphthalene, 1-ethylnaphthalene, 2-propylnaphthalene, 1-propylnaphthalene, and combinations thereof;
• a recovery agent dispersed within the non-conductive liquid;
• a conductive liquid located on top of the non-conductive liquid within the well such that the conductive liquid is located between the non-conductive liquid and the outer window along the optical axis, the conductive liquid having a conductivity from about 1×10−3 S/m to about 1×102 S/m and a second index of refraction, wherein the first index is greater than the second index of refraction;
• and
• a meniscus between the non-conductive liquid and the conductive liquid;
• and
• (3) an electrode configured to apply a variable voltage to the liquid lens, wherein a shape of the meniscus is varied by application of the variable voltage,
• wherein the recovery agent accounts for between 1 to 60 percent by weight of the non-conductive liquid.