Chinese Optics Letters, Volume. 23, Issue 8, (2025)

Compact mechanical Alvarez lenses with wide varifocal range using cam-drive [Early Posting]

yao can... Hao Qun, Liu Lin, Cao Jie, Xing Haoyue, Li Zhaohui Cheng Yang |Show fewer author(s)
Author Affiliations
  • China
  • Beijing Institute of Technology
  • show less

    This paper proposes compact Alvarez varifocal lenses with a wide varifocal range. It consists of a set of Alvarez lenses and three sets of ordinary lenses. The Alvarez lenses have a double free-form surface and are driven by a cam-driven structure. The axial size of the proposed varifocal Alvarez lenses is only 30.50 mm. The experimental results show that the proposed varifocal lens can achieve a focal length range from 15 mm to 75 mm, and the imaging quality is still in an acceptable range for optical lens requirements. The compact varifocal Alvarez lenses are expected to be used in surveillance systems, industrial inspection, and machine vision.

    Paper Information

    Manuscript Accepted: Mar. 24, 2025

    Posted: Apr. 8, 2025

    DOI: 10.3788/COL202523.081102