Patent ID: 11927771
Assignee: OPTICA AMUKA (A.A.) LTD.
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. Optical apparatus, comprising:
an electrically-tunable lens, comprising:
an electro-optical layer, having, for a given polarization of light incident on the layer, an effective local index of refraction at any given location within an active area of the electro-optical layer that is determined by a voltage waveform applied across the electro-optical layer at the location;
conductive electrodes extending over opposing first and second sides of the electro-optical layer, the electrodes comprising an array of excitation electrodes extending across the first side of the electro-optical layer;
control circuitry, which is coupled to apply respective control voltage waveforms to the excitation electrodes so as to generate a specified phase modulation profile in the electro-optical layer; and

a polarization rotator, positioned and configured to intercept incoming light that is directed toward the lens and to rotate a polarization of the intercepted light so as to ensure that the light incident on the electro-optical layer has a component of the given polarization regardless of an initial linear polarization of the intercepted light.