Liquid crystal microlens with dual apertures and electrically controlling focus shift

A novel liquid crystal (LC) microlens with dual apertures and electrically controlled beam-steering and focal length, which is designed and fabricated according to conventional microelectronic technology, is presented. The LC microlens is made of two layers of patterned electrodes, which are designed into basic quasi-circular holes with different diameters. The patterned electrodes are shaped in two indium-tin oxide (ITO) layers, which are separated by a thin SiO2 film, and driven by electrical signals with different voltage amplitudes. The LC microlens with layered quasi-circular-hole electrodes can be used to converge incident light and the focal position of the lens can be changed electrically along both the optical axis and in a direction perpendicular to it. This design is attractive for wide applications requiring microlenses with variable fields of view and optical apertures or field stops. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America