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US 10,473,900 B2Granted
Tunable microlens with a variable structure element
AssigneepoLight ASA
InventorsJohn Phair, Thomas Spatscheck, Vladimir Kartashov
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a transparent optical device element comprising a microlens and a method of providing stress and thermal compensation and tuning mechanical strength and curvature of a tunable microlens.
Claims18
A transparent optical device element comprising:
- at least one deformable lens body surrounded by a sidewall;
- a bendable transparent cover member attached to a surface of said at least one deformable lens body;
- piezoelectric actuators configured to shape said bendable transparent cover member into a desired shape, said piezoelectric actuators located on a top surface of said bendable transparent cover member, said piezoelectric actuators defining an optical aperture of said at least one deformable lens body on said bendable transparent cover member;
- at least one structure element located on said piezoelectric actuators;
- wherein said at least one structure element has an external diameter between a diameter of the bendable transparent cover member and a diameter of said optical aperture;
- and
- wherein said bendable transparent cover member is configured to provide mechanical stability to the transparent optical device element and to allow for tuning of a curvature of the bendable transparent cover member between a negative radius of curvature and a positive radius of curvature;
- and
- wherein said at least one deformable lens body comprises an elastic modulus larger than 300 Pa, a refractive index above 1.35, and an absorbance in the visible range less than 10% per millimeter thickness,
- wherein said at least one structure element comprises a stress compensation layer configured so as to vary in stress from −600 MPa to +600 MPa and having a thickness between 0.01 and 10 μm.
7 more elements
A method for tuning mechanical strength and curvature of a bendable transparent cover member in a transparent optical device element, said method comprising:
- depositing, bonding or attaching a bendable transparent cover membrane on a substrate;
- depositing, bonding or attaching one or more piezoelectric elements on top of said bendable transparent cover membrane;
- patterning of the one or more piezoelectric elements positioned on top of said bendable transparent cover membrane, wherein said piezoelectric elements define an optical aperture on said bendable transparent cover member;
- depositing a passivation layer over the patterned one or more piezoelectric elements;
- and
- depositing at least one structure element onto said bendable transparent cover member, wherein said at least one structure element has an external diameter between a diameter of the bendable transparent cover member and a diameter of the optical aperture, wherein said at least one structure element comprises a stress compensation layer configured so as to vary in stress from −600 MPa to +600 MPa and having a thickness between 0.01 and 100 μm;
- wherein said transparent optical device element comprises at least one deformable lens body comprising polymer.
4 more elements
A method for tuning mechanical strength and curvature of a bendable transparent cover member in a transparent optical device element, said method comprising:
- depositing, bonding or attaching a bendable transparent cover membrane on a substrate;
- depositing, bonding or attaching one or more piezoelectric elements on top of said bendable transparent cover membrane;
- patterning the one or more piezoelectric elements positioned on top of said bendable transparent cover membrane, wherein said piezoelectric elements define an optical aperture on said bendable transparent cover member;
- depositing a passivation layer over the patterned piezoelectric element;
- and
- depositing at least one structure element on said bendable transparent cover member, wherein said at least one structure element has an external diameter between a diameter of the bendable transparent cover member and a diameter of the optical aperture, wherein said at least one structure element comprises a stress compensation layer configured so as to vary in stress from −600 MPa to +600 MPa and having a thickness between 0.01 and 100 μm.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.