Fabrication of lenses by droplet formation on a pre-heated surface
We report a method of fabricating elastomer lens b ~mixing uncured polydimethylsiloxane elastomer liquid in manufacturer recommended pro ortions and dropping controlled volumes of the said liquid onto a controlled temperature pre- eated substrate. The temperature of the pre-heated substrate affects the speed of curing of t r e elastomer liquid, thus it has the ability to change the contact angle of the droplet, which wheJ cured, affects the focal length, effective curvature, and diameter of the resulting lens. The v~lume of the silicone droplet used ranges between 10 microliters to 1 milliliters, the temperatrl re of the pre-heated surface ranges from 60°C to 300°C.
A demonstrated application has been shown of dire tly adhering the PDMS onto a commercially available smartphone camera lens without the requi ement of any other peripheral accessories,to transform the smartphone camera into a magnifyi g glass or microscope. The lens may also be used as optical light concentrator.