ITOCUH Corporation is pleased to announce an agreement with Holochip Corporation (New Mexico, "Holochip") of the United States, under which ITOCHU will take an equity stake and begin a product development and sales alliance.
Based on the liquid lens technologies owned by Holochip, compact and thin auto-focusing lenses and zoom lens modules will be jointly developed in anticipation of rising demand for these products for a number of industrial applications.
The liquid lenses of Holochip imitate the lens of human eyes. They are formed by sealing liquid in a case made of transparent polymer membrane. The liquid lens form is expanded and changed by exerting horizontal forces from the surroundings, enabling the lens focal distance to be changed.
As such, focusing and zooming becomes possible without mechanically changing the distances between several solid lenses (made of glass and plastic) comprising the conventional lens modules.
As a result, the number of lenses in a lens module can be reduced and made thinner. Because of this, the lenses are expected to find widespread application in the next-generation lens modules for mobile phone and other compact terminals.
ITOCHU regards the liquid lenses of Holochip as one of the key technologies for next-generation optical products. With this strategic tie-up, ITOCHU will bolster next-generation product development and sales in Japan and other parts of Asia. At present, the product range ofHolochip comprises only the lenses for optical researches (of 10mm diameter).
marketing@alchempro.com
