Patent ID: 11971535
Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, A BODY CORPORATE
Field: Audio-visual technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 0:
1. An optical imaging device comprising
a flexible lightguide having a first end and a second end;
a lens assembly attached to and optically coupled to the second end of the flexible lightguide, the lens assembly comprising an electrowetting variable-focus lens element, the electrowetting variable-focus lens element having a tunable focal length and a tunable focal position in a dimension perpendicular to a direction of propagation of radiation from the flexible lightguide through the lens assembly, the electrowetting variable-focus lens element comprising:
a transparent substrate having a surface;
one or more sidewalls extending from the surface of the substrate, the one or more sidewalls having surfaces defining a cavity;
a polar liquid disposed within the cavity;
a second liquid disposed within the cavity, the second liquid being immiscible with the polar liquid and having a different index of refraction than the first liquid, the second liquid being electrically insulating, the polar liquid and the second liquid forming two distinct liquid phases within the cavity;
a plurality of separately-addressable first electrodes disposed along and distributed around the sidewalls of the cavity in a lateral relationship to one another; and
one or more second electrodes electrically isolated from the one or more first electrodes,
the plurality of separately-addressable electrodes being configured such that the focal length of the electrowetting variable-focus lens and the focal position of the electrowetting variable-focus lens element in a dimension perpendicular to a direction of propagation of radiation from the flexible lightguide through the lens assembly can be changed by changing one or more voltage biases on one or more of the plurality of separately-addressable first electrodes; and

a photodetector coupled to the flexible lightguide to detect radiation propagating from the second end toward the first end of the flexible lightguide.