In this paper, we design and fabricate a bionic solid tunable lens which is mainly made of polymer materials. The lens focal length can be changed flexibly by pressing the lens surface to alter the curvature radius. A detailed description of the lens structure, materials and fabrication process is presented. The lens mechanical properties and deformation process are simulated and analyzed using Ansys software. A precise experimental device based on a stepping motor is fabricated to measure and analyze the relationship between the displacement load and focal length. The lens focal length can be reversibly changed from 31.8 to 14.1 mm under 1 mm variation of displacement load. This paper offers a feasible way for the design, fabrication, and actuation of the solid tunable lens, which can be used in various machine vision apparatus.

Keywords: tunable lens; polymer material; deformation and stress analyses; actuation device