University Licenses Miniature Zoom Lens Technology for Mobile Phones
The University of Central Florida has signed a licensing agreement with Holochip Corp. for a portfolio of technologies that will allow zoom lenses, such as those used in camera phones, to be manufactured at a dramatically smaller size without compromising clarity.
Shin-Tson Wu, provost-distinguished professor of optics, and his research team at UCF's College of Optics and Photonics, have developed and patented technologies in the field of adaptive lenses, some of which closely replicate the working of the human eye. Under the agreement with the UCF Research Foundation, Holochip gains exclusive worldwide rights to Wu?s adaptive lens patents, including five U.S. patents and numerous foreign applications.
Conventional zoom lenses rely on mechanically moving groups of glass or plastic lenses in order to adjust focus, magnification and field of view. Adaptive lenses, however, offer the ability to change focal lengths while eliminating the need to mechanically change the location of the lens. And it is all done in miniature. The typical aperture size for a lens in a cell phone, for example, is one to two millimeters in diameter.
Since this approach provides a wide range of focal power with almost no optical loss, it can be implemented in compact camera modules, making it attractive for size-limited applications such as digital cameras and cell phones. Likewise, the LC lens offers the ability to control high-order aberrations that can lead to blurriness, making it attractive in applications such as free-space optical communications, adaptive optics, corrective eyewear and cameras.
"With the explosive growth of mobile imaging, and camera phone sales approaching one billion units worldwide, there is a critical need for high-quality, inexpensive and environmentally responsible adaptive lens solutions," said Robert Batchko, CEO of Holochip Corp. "With this agreement and our relationship with Professor Wu and his team, Holochip has taken a significant step toward meeting this need."
Posted to the site on 16th August 2007
