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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

#MEMS: "Microfluidic pumps focus liquid lens"


RPI's liquid pistons precisely pump droplets of nanoparticle-infused ferrofluids, which move in and out to focus a liquid lens.

Here is what my UBM's EETimes story says about liquid lenses: Liquid lenses are already used in immersion lithography to boost resolution, but the free-air droplets must be manually adjusted for proper focus. Now Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has shown a liquid lens with a focal length that can be electrically adjusted with tiny microfluidic pistons with no moving parts. RPI claims its electromagnetic liquid lens could boost all types of precision imaging applications, from immersion lithography to implantable retinas to the ultra-low power cameras on cell phones.

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