| WARF: P05131US |  |
| Variable-Focus Lens Assembly |
| INVENTORS | • | Hongrui Jiang, Abhishek Agarwal, Liang Dong, David Beebe |
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing an improved method of making microlenses with adjustable focal lengths.
OVERVIEW
One component of lab-on-a-chip technology is on-chip microlenses for optical analysis. Prior investigators have demonstrated tiny optical lenses with variable focal lengths. These lenses use specialized fluids that exhibit electrowetting, where the application of an electric field alters the surface tension of the liquid.
THE INVENTION
UW-Madison researchers have developed an alternative means of making microlenses with adjustable focal lengths. In this method, many fluids may be used for the lens. Responsive hydrogel structures create the tube in which the lens fluid sits. Alternatively, the hydrogel can be coupled to a transparent thin film that will act as the lens. When an environmental parameter, such as temperature or pH, changes, it causes the hydrogel to swell or contract. This in turn causes a change in the focal length of the lens.
APPLICATIONS
- Microlenses for optical analysis
KEY BENEFITS
- Hydrogels are versatile and can be chemically tuned to be responsive to many environmental parameters in addition to electric field.
- Improves flexibility in the design and operation of tunable microlenses in different applications
- Makes possible self-adaptive microlenses
- Compact and easily fabricated
- Many fluids may be used as the lens
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For More Information About the Inventors
Intellectual Property Status
Tech Fields
Micro & Nanotech - Microfluidics
Analytical Instrumentation - Optics
CONTACT INFORMATION
For current licensing status, please contact our team at
licensing@warf.org
or phone 608.262.4924. (Clicking this link will open a contact form in a popup window. If you have problems viewing the form, try disabling your popup blocker software.)
Since its founding in 1925 as the patenting and licensing organization for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, WARF has been working with business and industry to transform university research into products that benefit society. WARF intellectual property managers and licensing staff members are leaders in the field of university-based technology transfer. They are familiar with the intricacies of patenting, have worked with researchers in relevant disciplines, understand industries and markets, and have negotiated innovative licensing strategies to meet the individual needs of business clients.
