Filipino Researchers Create Affordable Liquid Lenses

Filipino scientists have developed an innovative, cost-effective method for creating dynamically adjustable water-based lenses, which hold promise for a wide range of applications from educational tools to advanced optical devices. The research team, led by experts from Ateneo de Manila University and other institutions, coated standard glass slides with specially-engineered polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to form hydrophobic surfaces that maintain water droplets in a dome shape, akin to magnifying lenses. By manipulating the size of these droplets, they effectively controlled magnification without distortion. This groundbreaking technique not only has potential uses in classrooms and low-resource settings for teaching optics but could also advance research in fields requiring precise laser adjustments, as well as future developments in cameras and wearable technology. The findings are detailed in the May 2025 issue of Results in Optics.