Electro-optic Lens Filter Radial Field Gradient Aperture Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Camera modules in portable consumer electronics face challenges in minimizing device profile while maintaining image quality, as traditional iris diaphragms are not feasible and electro-optic apertures with uniform electric fields struggle to balance light and resolution effectively.
Innovation Solution
A lens filter with an electro-optic portion featuring a radially and circumferentially symmetric electric field gradient, achieved through a design with a front and rear transparent conductive layer and an electrochromic layer, where conductive plugs create an electrical short around the perimeter, allowing for a radially symmetric electric field and corresponding light transmittance profile.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If an iris diaphragm is used as a variable aperture stop, then aperture control is achieved, but device profile increases and it cannot be integrated in portable devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical iris diaphragm system with an electro-optic aperture system. The electro-optic medium changes its optical properties (transparency/opacity) in response to an applied electric field, eliminating the need for moving mechanical parts. This substitution allows aperture control to be achieved through electrical signals rather than mechanical movement, thereby minimizing device profile while maintaining aperture control functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a dynamically controllable aperture system where the electro-optic medium can change its state rapidly in response to voltage changes. The aperture size can be adjusted dynamically by varying the voltage applied to the electro-optic medium, enabling real-time adaptation without mechanical movement. This dynamic control achieves aperture adjustment while keeping the device structure compact.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a patterned transparent conductive layer creates a radially uniform electric field, then uniform opacity is achieved, but circumferential electric field variation causes non-uniform light transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces asymmetric conductive plugs positioned at specific locations (e.g., at 45-degree angles from the voltage application point) to counterbalance the circumferential electric field variations. These plugs create localized electric field modifications that compensate for the non-uniformity caused by the single-point voltage application, thereby achieving more uniform light transmission across the aperture while maintaining the radial uniformity of the electro-optic medium.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the position, size, and conductivity parameters of the conductive plugs to achieve uniform light transmission. By carefully selecting the plug locations (angular position) and dimensions, the system compensates for the circumferential field variations. The conductivity parameter of the plugs is also optimized to ensure they provide sufficient charge redistribution without creating new non-uniformities, thereby achieving precise control over light transmission uniformity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enables a smooth transition from maximum to minimum light intensity, improving image resolution and noise reduction while maintaining a compact form factor, by controlling the aperture size effectively in varying light conditions.
Implementation Method 1
An electro-optic aperture may include an electro-chromic (EC) medium that attenuates light that is passing through the aperture, in response to a voltage being applied to a pair of transparent conductive layers that sandwich the EC medium.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrically activated lens filter with an electro-optic portion having a radially and circumferentially symmetric electric field gradient is disclosed. More particularly, embodiments of the lens filter include an electro-optic portion having one or more conductive plugs arranged around a center region such that an electric field within the electro-optic portion varies from a maximum at an outer rim to a minimum outside of the center region. The lens filter may include a plurality of front electrodes and rear electrodes accessible in an axial direction for electrically activating front and rear transparent conductive layers, respectively.