Self-aligned opposite mirrors for tilting field of view driven by electrowetting

Abstract

We propose an optical device which appends pan/tilt functions to cameras by moving mirrors with electrowetting force. The device is composed of two plates and a liquid pillar holding two mirrors. On the lower plate, electrodes are patterned and a hydrophobic layer is coated. When a voltage is applied to the electrode on the lower plate, the liquid is moved toward the electrode by electrowetting force. Consequently, the mirror is tilted and the light path that comes into the device is controlled. When a camera was put below our device, the field of view of the camera was shifted by 25 degrees with 50 V applied.