Electrically tunable polymer stabilized liquid-crystal lens

A tunable focal lens using flat electro-optical liquid-crystal cell with uniform pixel-free electrodes is developed. The lenslike gradient refractive index profile is created in the cell via the spatially distributed polymer network obtained by photopolymerization using a spatially nonuniform laser beam. The conditions of the polymer network generation are optimized to improve the optical quality of the lens and its focusing properties. Low optical loss (scattering) is achieved for a focal length smoothly tunable from infinity to 0.8 m. Obtained results can be applied to develop lenses that have no moving parts and allow the electro-optical zooming. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.