Membrane-based aberration-corrected tunable micro-lenses

We present measurements and simulations of membrane-based micro-lens stacks, tunable in focal length in the range of 10mm to 50mm without chromatic aberration. The pressure-actuated, liquid-filled, membrane-based micro-lenses are fabricated by an all-silicone molding approach and consist of three chambers separated by two highly flexible silicone-membranes. Based on the idea of the classical achromatic Fraunhofer doublet, two different liquids with suitable optical properties are used. Pressure-dependent surface topologies are measured by profilometry for determining the correlation between refraction and applied pressure. The profiles are fit to polynomials; the coefficients of the polynomials are pressure-dependent and fit to empirically determined functions which are then used as an input for optical ray-tracing. Using this approach, the focal length is tunable while compensating for chromatic aberration by suitably applied pressures.