27 November 2023 Optical performance of commercial liquid lens assemblies in microgravity
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Focus-tunable liquid lenses are used in various applications due to their compact size, light weight, low power consumption, and cost effectiveness. They have the potential for use in space applications, such as focus compensation, optical communications, and imaging systems. However, liquid lenses have not yet been evaluated for use in the space environment. This work focuses on characterizing operational differences of commercially available liquid lenses from Corning Varioptic and Optotune between Earth gravity, microgravity, and hypergravity environments. Results show a linear drift in the tip/tilt of 0.80 and 4.20 mrad going from 1 to 0 g for the Corning Varioptic A-39N0 lens and Optotune EL-16-40-TC-VIS lens, respectively, with lower optical aberrations in microgravity. Additionally, a significant but small increase in focal power going from 1 to 0 g by 0.02 D is observed for the Optotune lens. No significant change in focal power is observed for the Corning Varioptic lens tested in this experiment. Additionally, potential multi-beam interference is observed in defocus patterns of the Corning Varioptic lens tested during the experiment.

© 2023 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
Shreeyam Kacker and Kerri L. Cahoy "Optical performance of commercial liquid lens assemblies in microgravity," Optical Engineering 62(11), 113106 (27 November 2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.62.11.113106
Received: 22 June 2023; Accepted: 30 October 2023; Published: 27 November 2023
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KEYWORDS
Liquid lenses

Lenses

Liquids

Optical engineering

Wavefront errors

Reflection

Beam diameter

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