An electrically tunable depth-of-field endoscope using a liquid crystal lens as an active focusing element

Abstract

An electrically tunable depth-of-field (DOF) endoscope using a liquid crystal lens (LC lens) as an active focusing element is demonstrated. The optical mechanism of the electrically-tunable DOF endoscope adopting a two-mode switching LC lens is introduced. The two-mode switching LC lens provides not only a positive lens power but also a negative lens power. Therefore, we could extend the range of DOF originally from 27 mm similar to 55 mm to 12.4 mm similar to 76.4 mm by using the two-mode switching LC lens as an active focusing element. The detail derivations of the optical mechanism of the endoscopic system adopting a LC lens are invistgated. The more detail experimental results are demonstrated. We believe this study can provide a more detail understanding of an endoscopic system adopting a tunable focusing lens.