OFweek laser network news: University of Houston researchers recently developed a new type of optical lens, can be directly attached to the intelligent mobile phone, the image is magnified 120 times, a resolution of 1 microns, and cost only 3 cents. Related papers were published in biomedical optics.

Shi Weichuan, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at University of Houston, says that this kind of lens works like a microscope, with low cost and ease of use, so it is very suitable for use in classrooms for primary and secondary school students. It can also be used clinically to allow small, remote clinics to share images with experts from other places.
 

According to the daily science network, this lens is made of poly two siloxane (PDMS). PDMS is a kind of material like honey, which can be attached to a preheated surface and gradually solidified. The curvature of the lens, that is, the magnification, depends on the heating time and heating temperature of the PDMS, said Song Yulong, the first author and doctoral student of the paper. The final shape of the lens is flexible, like a soft contact lens, but they are also more thick, slightly smaller. This lens can be simply attached to the smart phone camera, you can turn the camera into a microscope, optical magnification of 120 times, the image resolution can reach 1 microns. And since the PDMS and the glass don't permanently stick together, they can be easily removed with the later lens.

Traditional lenses are made by mechanical polishing or injection molding. The material is usually glass or plastic. There are liquid lenses, but they can't be solidified. They should be kept stable in a special container. Song Yulong said that other liquid lenses need additional equipment to attach to smartphones, which can be attached directly without falling down, and can be reused. For research, the slides of human skin hair follicles can be made with smartphones, -PDMS systems or OLYMPUS IX-70 microscopes. When magnified 120 times, the smartphone lens is comparable to OLYMPUS's 100 fold microscope, and digital amplification with software support can be further improved.

Researchers estimate that the total cost of making such a lens might be 3 cents. In contrast, traditional research microscopes cost tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, this kind of lens is suitable for primary and secondary school students, and it is a cheap and convenient means for field or indoor research. They just put the camera on the smartphone, and they can share photos easily through email or documents, and because it's very cheap, it's not a big thing to lose or break it.