HYDROSTATIC LIQUID-METAL DEFORMABLE OPTICAL ELEMENTS
First Claim
1. An optical component, comprising:
- an optical element having a surface;
a base member;
multiple wells corresponding to respective locations on the surface;
liquid metal contained in the wells and coupled to the respective locations to apply respective hydrostatic pressures to the respective locations; and
at least one displacement device coupled to at least one well, the displacement device being configured to selectively change the respective hydrostatic pressure applied, relative to the base member, by the liquid metal in the well to the respective location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Optical components and systems are disclosed that include an optical element and a base member. Multiple wells correspond to respective locations on a surface of the optical element. Liquid metal in the wells is coupled to the respective locations to apply respective hydrostatic pressures to the locations. At least one displacement device is coupled to at least one well to selectively change the respective hydrostatic pressure applied, relative to the base member, by the liquid metal in the well to the respective location. The “liquid metal” is any of several formulations of metal that are liquid under actual-use conditions (e.g., a liquid alloy of gallium). The liquid metal can be displaced through conduits to change the hydrostatic pressure being applied to the respective locations. The displacement, and hence the hydrostatic pressure, can be feedback controlled.
15 Citations
67 Claims
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1. An optical component, comprising:
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an optical element having a surface; a base member; multiple wells corresponding to respective locations on the surface; liquid metal contained in the wells and coupled to the respective locations to apply respective hydrostatic pressures to the respective locations; and at least one displacement device coupled to at least one well, the displacement device being configured to selectively change the respective hydrostatic pressure applied, relative to the base member, by the liquid metal in the well to the respective location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. An optical system, comprising:
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a frame; a base member mounted to the frame; an optical element mounted to the frame and situated relative to the base member, the optical element having an optical surface and a reverse surface; multiple wells corresponding to respective locations on the reverse surface; liquid metal contained in the wells and coupled to the respective locations to apply respective hydrostatic pressures to the respective locations; and at least one displacement device coupled to at least one well, the displacement device being configured to selectively change the respective hydrostatic pressure applied, relative to the base member, by the liquid metal in the well to the respective location. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. An optical system, comprising:
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frame means for supporting at least one optical element of the system; a base member mounted to the frame means; an optical element mounted to the frame means relative to the base member and having an optical surface and a reverse surface; multiple containment means for holding respective amounts of liquid metal, the containment means being situated on the base member or optical element and corresponding to respective locations on the surface; coupling means for coupling the containment means to respective locations on the reverse surface such that a change in hydrostatic pressure in a particular containment means translates into a corresponding change in force applied to the respective location; and actuation means for selectively changing hydrostatic pressure in the respective containment means to produce the corresponding change in force at a respective location on the reverse surface. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A method for providing an active-optics change of an optical surface of an optical element, comprising:
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providing multiple discrete contained volumes of liquid metal; coupling the contained volumes to respective locations on a reverse surface of the optical element to apply respective hydrostatic forces to the respective locations; and changing the respective hydrostatic force applied by at least one of the contained volumes to the respective location to produce a corresponding change in a region of the optical surface. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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Specification