Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC

James Howard Thomas Ransley

Andrew John Ouderkirk

Kenneth Alexander Diest

Spencer Allan Wells

Nagi H Elabbasi

Christopher Yuan Ting Liao

Liliana Ruiz Diaz

Christopher Bruce Stipe

Taha Masood

Laura Cressman

Robin Sharma

Jo Anne Etter

Renate Eva Klementine Landig

Christopher Stipe

An actuator includes a primary electrode, a secondary electrode overlapping at least a portion of the primary electrode, and an electroactive layer disposed between and abutting the primary electrode and the secondary electrode, where a mechanical deformation of the electroactive layer is locally controllable over an area of the actuator. The mechanical deformation of the electroactive layer may be configured to generate compound curvature, e.g., in an optical element co-integrated with the actuator, without buckling the optical element.

Actuator for generating compound curvature

An electromechanical actuator includes a primary electrode, a secondary electrode overlying at least a portion of the primary electrode, and an electroactive layer disposed between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode, where the electroactive layer has a first curvature when zero voltage is applied between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode, and a second curvature when a non-zero voltage is applied between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode.

Deformable lens with an extended range of stability

A liquid lens includes a substrate, a transparent elastic membrane forming a cavity with the substrate, and a transparent fluid filling the cavity between the substrate and the membrane. The membrane has a pre-distorted, rotationally asymmetric shape in absence of the fluid in the cavity. When the cavity is filled with the fluid and the substrate is disposed vertically w.r.t. gravity at a pre-defined clocking angle, the membrane adopts a substantially rotationally symmetric shape due to elasticity of the membrane counteracting gravity exerting a downward force on the fluid in the cavity, reducing the effect of the gravity sag on optical performance of the liquid lens.

Liquid lens with gravity sag correction

An actuator may be integrated into an optical element such as a liquid lens and configured to create spherical curvature as well as a variable cylinder radius and axis in a surface of the optical element. An example actuator may include a stack of electromechanical layers, and electrodes configured to apply an electric field independently across each of the electromechanical layers. Within the stack, an orientation of neighboring electromechanical layers may differ, e.g., stepwise, by at least approximately 10°.

Actuator with variable cylinder

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Medford, MA, United States of America

James Howard Thomas Ransley