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P‐141: A Large‐Area Optical Switch Using Surface‐Expandable Liquid Droplets
Author(s) -
Wang Xiahui,
Zhang Guoqing,
Ren Hongwen
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
sid symposium digest of technical papers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.351
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2168-0159
pISSN - 0097-966X
DOI - 10.1002/sdtp.11006
Subject(s) - materials science , contrast ratio , voltage , optics , aperture (computer memory) , dielectric , optical switch , polarization (electrochemistry) , optical microscope , optoelectronics , chemistry , physics , composite material , scanning electron microscope , quantum mechanics , acoustics
We demonstrated a large‐area optical switch using surface‐expandable liquid droplets. The droplets are isolated by polymeric grids. The size of each pixel is 0.5 × 1 mm, and the average diameter of the droplets is ~0.33 mm. The droplets are highly contracted in null voltage state, so the largest aperture ratio is ~72%. By applying an external voltage, the generated dielectric force can spread the surface of the droplets. Impacted by a 60‐V rms voltage pulse, the aperture ratio can reach zero. The contrast ratio and the response time are ~29:1 and ~680 ms, respectively. Since the optical switch is polarization insensitive, our device has potential applications in displays, light shutters, and switchable windows.