Corning Varioptic Hits Two Million Lens Milestone

Continuous innovation, perseverance, and the ability to understand customer demand has brought Corning® Varioptic® Lenses to a new milestone.

At the Laser World of Photonics trade show, the business announced the recent sale of their two millionth liquid lens.

“We are excited to reach this significant touch-point in the evolution of our business,” stated Frédéric Laune, business manager, Corning Varioptic Lenses. “It took us ten years to sell our first million lenses, and only two years to sell the second million. Demand for our technology has increased as more industries and companies integrate Varioptic liquid lenses into their industrial and medical applications.”

Manufacturing and other industrial functions are becoming increasingly automated. Processes rely more and more on machine vision for tasks like barcode reading, product inspection, and robotic guidance. Corning is continuing to innovate enabling technologies that keep product and process moving forward with speed and reliability to meet growing demand driven by market trends and new government initiatives.

“Reaching this milestone is extra special because it is based on persistence,” said Frédéric. “The markets we target have long sales cycles and slow adoption rates, but our perseverance, market understanding, and commitment to innovation paid off.  In the last two years our sales doubled, and we were able to produce liquid lenses at a higher volume than ever before.”

Corning Varioptic Lenses perform differently than traditional variable focus lenses.  Specifically, Corning liquid lenses feature electrowetting - electrostatic forces that change the radius of the spherical interface between two immiscible liquids, resulting in no moving parts, low power consumption, and no noise.  The lenses enable fast-focus and higher throughput than mechanical solutions. Corning liquid lenses are also resistant to vibration and shock and can withstand hundreds of millions of cycles; compared to only a few thousand from mechanical solutions.

“Reaching this milestone is exciting but we are not resting on this success,” said John Duke, vice president, Corning Glass Microsystems.  “We look forward to delivering the next million lenses, innovating the next generation of products, and exploring new applications for these robust, accurate, and long-lasting liquid lenses.”

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