Mitutoyo: Varifocal Lens Taglens

Taglens is a liquid lens whose basic principle is based on optical imaging by the grin effect (gradient in the refractive index). The unique feature of this technology is that, unlike grin glass lenses, the gradient in the liquid is not static, but is modulated by means of piezo elements at a frequency of 70 kilohertz. As a result, the focus of an optical system incorporating Taglens is scanned far beyond the depth-of-field range limited by conventional optics, 70,000 times per second. This means that a depth-of-field range extended by up to 20 times is imaged without mechanically moving components.