Thermally tunable polymer microlenses

Abstract

Polymer microlenses capable of using heat to control its focal length are presented. The microlenses are created by exposing droplets of the polymer SU-8 to UV light. By altering the temperature of the microlenses via on-chip heating, their curvature and focal length are actively controlled without mechanical movements. By directly and indirectly measuring temperature-dependent changes of the focal length, we test the ability of the microlenses as a tunable imaging component. The microlenses have potential use in applications such as laser systems, functional biomimetics, and endoscopy. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.