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Updated: Apr 28, 2026
Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators
Published on: May 20, 2018
Fabricating low cost and high performance elastomer lenses using hanging droplets.
W M Lee1, A Upadhya2, P J Reece3
1Research School of Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australia National University, North Road, Canberra ACT 0200 Australia ; School of Physics, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2035, Australia ; Garvan Institute of Medical Research, 384 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010 Australia.
We developed a novel, low-cost method for fabricating flexible lenses using a moldless hanging droplet technique. This method produces high-performance optical lenses suitable for various applications, including smartphone-based microscopy.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Manufacturing Engineering
Background:
- Traditional lens fabrication methods, such as parallel mold stamping and high-temperature reflow, are costly and require complex engineering controls.
- Existing techniques often rely on expensive equipment, limiting the widespread accessibility of high-quality optical lenses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a novel, low-cost (< $0.01 per piece) flexible lens fabrication method.
- To demonstrate the fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) lenses using a moldless hanging droplet technique.
- To explore the optical performance and potential applications of these fabricated lenses.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of lenses by curing hanging transparent polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer droplets on a curved substrate.
- Achieving increased lens curvature and decreased focal length through sequential deposition of additional hanging droplets.
- Characterization of lens performance, including light collimation and microscopic imaging capabilities.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a low-cost (< $0.01 per pc) flexible moldless lens fabrication method.
- Achieved lens focal lengths as short as ~2 mm by increasing droplet deposition.
- Successfully collimated light from a light-emitting diode (LED) and imaged microscopic structures down to 4 µm with 160x magnification.
- Transformed a commercial smartphone camera into a 60x magnification digital dermatoscope for visualizing skin structures like sweat pores.
Conclusions:
- The hanging droplet lens fabrication technique offers a new paradigm for manufacturing low-cost, high-performance optical lenses.
- This method enables the creation of versatile optical components for diverse applications, including low-cost microscopy and smartphone-based medical imaging.
- The developed technique has the potential for mass production of affordable, high-quality lenses for widespread use.
