A camera module of an embodiment includes: a liquid lens including a common electrode and a plurality of individual electrodes; and a control circuit electrically connected to the common electrode and the individual electrodes and configured to control the liquid lens, wherein, when a driving voltage for driving the liquid lens is changed, the control circuit floats at least one of the plurality individual electrode in a state in which a first voltage is applied to the common electrode.

A tunable optical electrowetting element having a liquid-liquid interface shape controlled by an applied voltage. Circuitry for applying a voltage to the electrowetting element is configured to apply a shaped voltage signal comprising a first fast-rising signal combined with a second fast-rising signal. The second signal is selected to damp oscillations in the liquid-liquid interface caused by the first signal.

A device that includes a first integrated device, a second integrated device configured to be electrically coupled to the first integrated device and an electrowetting device configured to be electrically coupled to the second integrated device. The electrowetting device is configured to redistribute heat across a back surface of the device by looping a liquid in the electrowetting device, along the back surface of the device.

An electrowetting device has an active matrix substrate including a plurality of first electrodes arrayed in a matrix shape, a plurality of TFTs, a plurality of first wiring lines extending along a row direction, and a plurality of second wiring lines extending along a column direction. The plurality of TFTs are disposed so as to have at least one of first and second relative arrangements. The first relative arrangement is a relative arrangement where two or more TFTs that are connected to any one of the plurality of first wiring lines alternately include, along the row direction: TFTs that are connected to the first electrodes belonging to one of a pair of rows adjoining the one first wiring line; and TFTs that are connected to the first electrodes belonging to the other row. The second relative arrangement is a relative arrangement where two or more TFTs that are connected to any one of the plurality of second wiring lines alternately include, along the column direction: TFTs that are connected to the first electrodes belonging to one of a pair of columns adjoining the one second wiring line; and TFTs that are connected to the first electrodes belonging to the other column.

A tunable optic includes a hexagonal-shaped housing, a polar liquid, a first electrode, a second electrode, a third electrode, a fourth electrode, a fifth electrode, a sixth electrode, and a grounding electrode. The hexagonal-shaped housing includes first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth side walls and first and second light transmissive end walls, and the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth side walls and the first and second light transmissive end walls define a hexagonal-shaped inner cavity. The polar liquid is disposed within the hexagonal-shaped inner cavity. The polar liquid has a surface, and the surface has a curvature and a two-dimensional tilt angle that is variable in response to voltages supplied to each of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth electrodes, whereby lens characteristics and light deflection characteristics of the tunable optic are varied.

The invention provides a film having a high relative permittivity, a high volume resistivity, and a high breakdown strength. The film has a relative permittivity of 9 or higher at a frequency of 1 kHz and 30° C., a volume resistivity of 5E+15 Ω.Math.cm or higher at 30° C., and a breakdown strength of 500 V/μm or higher.

A liquid lens includes a first plate including a cavity accommodating a conductive liquid and a non-conductive liquid; second and third plates disposed above and below the first plate, respectively, the second and third plates defining the cavity together with the first plate; a common electrode disposed so as to extend to the conductive liquid from a position between the first plate and the third plate; a plurality of individual electrodes disposed between the first plate and the second plate, the plurality of individual electrodes being electrically isolated from each other; and a temperature-sensing unit disposed inside at least one of the first plate, the second plate, or the third plate.

An electrowetting system is disclosed. The system includes electrodes configured to manipulate droplets of fluid in a microfluidic space. Each electrode is coupled to circuitry operative to selectively apply a driving voltage to the electrode. The system includes a dielectric stack including a first dielectric pair comprising a first layer having a first dielectric constant and a second layer having a second dielectric constant. The second dielectric constant is larger than the first dielectric constant. The dielectric stack includes a second dielectric pair comprising a third layer having a third dielectric constant and a fourth layer having a fourth dielectric constant. The fourth dielectric constant is larger than the third dielectric constant. A ratio of a thickness of the fourth layer to a thickness of the third layer (T.sub.4:T.sub.3) is in the range from about 2:1 to about 8:1. The second dielectric pair is thinner than the first dielectric pair.

Control systems for liquid lenses can use feedback control using one or more measured parameters indicative of a position of the fluid interface in the liquid lens. Capacitance between a fluid and an electrode in the liquid lens can vary depending on the position of the fluid interface. Current mirrors can be used for making measurements indicative of the capacitance and/or the fluid interface position. The liquid lens can be calibrated using the measurements indicative of capacitance and/or fluid interface position as the voltage is driven across an operational range. A control system can use pulse width modulation (PWM) for driving a liquid lens, and a carrier frequency for the PWM signals can be varied to control power consumption in the liquid lens. The slew rate can be adjustable to control power consumption in the liquid lens.

An optical system comprising: an optical element having an optical property responsive to an applied signal, a variation of the optical property with the signal exhibiting hysteresis in a first range of values and no hysteresis in a second range of values of the signal; a memory storing data representing a hysteresis curve which indicates the variation of the optical property with increasing and decreasing values of the signal; and a controller which continuously controls the optical property by: generating, based on the stored data, a cyclic signal having a discontinuity in each cycle of the cyclic signal, and setting the discontinuity size in each cycle based on the stored data such that a part of the variation of the optical property with the cyclic signal coincides with a part of the variation represented by the stored data; and applying the cyclic signal to the optical element.