Design of an 8x Four-group Inner-focus Zoom System Using a Focus Tunable Lens

Abstract

This study presents an 8x four-group inner-focus zoom lens with one-moving group for a compact camera by use of a focus tunable lens (FTL). In the initial design stage, we obtained the powers of lens groups by paraxial design based on thin lens theory, and then set up the zoom system composed of four lens modules. Instead of numerically analytic analysis for the zoom locus, we suggest simple analysis for that using lens modules optimized. After replacing four groups with equivalent thick lens modules, the power of the fourth group, which includes a focus tunable lens, is designed to be changed to fix the image plane at all positions. From this design process, we can realize an 8x four-group zoom system having one moving group by employing a focus tunable lens. The final designed zoom lens has focal lengths of 4 mm to 32 mm and apertures of F/3.5 to F/4.5 at wide and tele positions, respectively.