Electrically Variable Focus Polymer-Stabilized Liquid Crystal Lens Having Non-Homogenous Polymerization of a Nematic Liquid Crystal/Monomer Mixture

• US 20070052915A1
• Filed: 09/26/2006
• Published: 03/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Point Financial, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Universite Laval
• Inventors: ASATRYAN, Karen, GALSTIAN, Tigran, PRESNIAKOV, Vladimir, TORK, Amir
• Granted Patent: US 7,667,818 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/200
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13775 Polymer-stabilized liquid crystal layers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/29 for the control of the position or the direction of light beams, i.e. deflection
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/294 Variable focal length devices
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2203/28 focussing or defocussing

Abstract

A variable focus liquid crystal lens includes a nematic liquid crystal/monomer mixture having a spatially inhomogenous polymer network structure, and an electrode for applying a substantially uniform voltage to the nematic liquid crystal/monomer mixture. The lens is created within a cell by applying a substantially uniform electric field to the nematic liquid crystal/monomer mixture within the cell, while simultaneously irradiating the nematic liquid crystal/monomer mixture using a laser beam having a shaped intensity distribution, so as to induce formation of a spatially inhomogenous polymer network structure within the cell.

Claims

1-8. -8. (canceled)

9. A variable focus liquid crystal lens comprising:

a cell containing a nematic liquid crystal/monomer mixture having a spatially non-homogenous polymer network structure distributed non-uniformly within the nematic liquid crystal monomer mixture; and

at least one electrode for applying a substantially uniform voltage to the nematic liquid crystal/monomer mixture in the cell.

10. The variable focus liquid crystal lens of claim 9, wherein the spatially non-homogenous polymer network structure is circularly symmetrical.

11. The variable focus liquid crystal lens of claim 9, wherein the nematic liquid crystal/monomer contains less than 3% polymer chains.

12. The variable focus liquid crystal lens of claim 9, wherein the nematic liquid crystal/monomer mixture contains approximately 97% liquid crystal.

13. The variable focus liquid crystal lens of claim 9, wherein the non-homogeneous polymer network is formed by photopolymerization.

14. The variable focus liquid crystal lens of claim 13, wherein photopolymerization comprises irradiating the nematic liquid crystal/monomer mixture using a laser beam having a shaped intensity distribution.

15. The variable focus liquid crystal lens of claim 9, wherein the monomer contained in the nematic liquid crystal/monomer mixture is a glycidyl methacrylate.