A microfluidically controlled concave–convex membrane lens using an addressing operation system

Abstract

Electrical control toolkits for microlens arrays are available to some extent, but for applications in environments with strong electromagnetic fields, radiation, or deep water, non-electrical actuation and control strategies are more appropriate. An integrated digital microfluidic zoom actuating unit with a logic addressing unit for a built-in membrane lens array, e.g., a flexible bionic compound eye, is developed and studied in this article. A concave–convex membrane fluidic microvalve, which is the component element of the logic gate, actuator, and microlens, is proposed to replace the traditional solenoid valve. The functions of pressure regulation and decoding can be obtained by incorporating microvalves into fluidic networks according to equivalent circuit designs. The zoom actuating unit contains a pressure regulator to adjust the focal length of lenses with three levels, and the logic addressing unit contains a decoder to choose a typical lens from a hexagonal lens array. The microfluidic chip control system is connected flexibly to the actuating part, a membrane lens array. It is shown from a simulation and experimental demonstration that the designed and fabricated system, which is composed of a whole microfluidic zoom unit, addressing technology, and a microlens array, works well. Because these components are constructed in the same fabrication process and operate with the same work media and driving source, the system can be made highly compatible and lightweight for applications such as human-machine interfaces and soft robots.