The meniscus between two immiscible liquids can be used as an optical lens. A change in curvature of this meniscus by electrowetting leads to a change in focal distance. It is demonstrated that two liquids in a tube form a self-centered lens with a high optical quality. The motion of the lens during a focusing action was studied by observation through the transparent tube wall. Finally, a miniature achromatic camera module was designed and constructed based on this adjustable lens, showing that it is excellently suited for use in portable applications.
Basic electrowetting theory predicts that a continued increase in applied voltage will allow contact angle modulation to zero degrees. In practice, the effect of contact angle saturation has always been observed to limit the contact angle modulation, often only down to a contact angle of 60 to 70°. The physical origins of contact angle saturation have not yet been explained successfully and unequivocally. At best, scientists have produced multiple disconnected hypotheses (droplet ejection, charge injection, a thermodynamic limit, etc.) that do not satisfactorily hold for the large body of electrowetting experimental results. Herein we experimentally demonstrate that when using DC voltage, electrowetting contact angle saturation is invariant with electric field,
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