Low voltage, highly tunable diffraction grating based on dielectric elastomer actuators

Manuel Aschwanden; Andreas Stemmer

doi:10.1117/12.713325

5 April 2007 Low voltage, highly tunable diffraction grating based on dielectric elastomer actuators

Manuel Aschwanden, Andreas Stemmer

Proceedings Volume 6524, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2007; 65241N (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.713325
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2007, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We present an electrically tunable diffraction grating, driven by thin-film dielectric elastomer actuators. The device combines the advantages of dielectric elastomer actuators, capable of generating very large strains, with the desirable properties of Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS). The soft materials based tunable diffraction grating achieves a continuous grating period change of 19.2%, when a voltage of 500 V is applied. This is an improvement by a factor of 90 compared to conventional analog tunable diffraction gratings based on hard materials. Further device characterization yielded a tunable angular range of more than 100 mrad. Additionally, we show that in combination with a collimated white light source (e.g. white light emitting diode), the discussed tunable diffraction grating can be used for wavelength-adjustable luminous sources. Integrated into displays, these light sources could facilitate the first technology able to reproduce all perceivable colors.

Citation Download Citation

Manuel Aschwanden and Andreas Stemmer "Low voltage, highly tunable diffraction grating based on dielectric elastomer actuators", Proc. SPIE 6524, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2007, 65241N (5 April 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.713325

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