Purpose
A large population on the planet needs correction of near vision with aging. To overcome the disadvantages of the existing eyeglasses for correction of presbyopia based on area division, it is very attractive to develop tunable electro-optic lens with high imaging quality and large aperture. In this technique, the power can be continuously adjusted by a small voltage across the whole aperture.
Methods
By incorporating nanotechnology and cost-effective microfabrication technology, we have designed and fabricated tunable liquid crystal lenses with large aperture and large tunable range needed for correction of presbyopia. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of such a powerful device. The nanoparticles doped in the liquid crystals provide excellent alignment of the liquid crystals and this property eliminates the alignment layer on the surface of the microsturctured element.
Results
We have designed and fabricated a tunable liquid crystal lens with large aperture (over 20 mm), large tunable range (over 3 diopters) and low driving voltage. The lens shows high optical quality. These lenses have been used to build the prototypes of adaptive spectacles and visual simulator. Vision test results will be shown.
Conclusions
The electro-optic tunable lenses with large aperture and large tunable range are promising for vision correction and vision assessment.
Keywords: 653 presbyopia •
404 accommodation •
414 aging: visual performance