Interfacial tension breaks mould for custom lenses

Researchers have developed a low-cost method of making custom lenses that could help manufacturers avoid expensive moulds required for low-volume optical manufacturing.

Led by Lei Li, assistant professor in Washington State University’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and graduate student, Mojtaba Falahati, the researchers developed a liquid mould from droplets that they can manipulate with magnets to create lenses in a variety of shapes and sizes. Their work is featured in Applied Physics Letters.

According to Washington State, the traditional moulding and casting processes used in the manufacture of high-quality lenses require complex and expensive metal moulds, limiting manufacturers to mainly mass producing one kind of lens.

The team, including researchers from Ohio State University, encountered the problem when they searched for lenses during work to develop a portable laboratory reader on a phone.