Infrared Optical Switch Using a Movable Liquid Droplet
Infrared Optical Switch Using a Movable Liquid Droplet
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DOI：
10.3390/mi6020186
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发表时间：
2015-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Miao Xu;Xiahui Wang;B. Jin;H. Ren
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Miao Xu;Xiahui Wang;B. Jin;H. Ren
本文报道了一种采用楔形单元的红外光开关。将甘油液滴置于池中，其周围充满硅油。液滴在松弛状态下具有最小的表面积与体积（SA/V）比。通过施加电压，所产生的介电力拉动液滴朝向具有较薄单元间隙的区域移动。结果，液滴被基板变形，导致液滴的SA/V增加。当电压被移除时，液滴可以返回到其原始位置，以使表面能最小化。由于甘油在1.55 μm处的吸收，移动液滴可用于衰减红外光束，具有偏振无关的优点。基于这种操作机制的荧光器件在光纤开关、红外快门和可变光衰减等方面具有潜在的应用前景。
We report an infrared (IR) optical switch using a wedge-like cell. A glycerol droplet is placed in the cell and its surrounding is filled with silicone oil. The droplet has minimal surface area to volume (SA/V) ratio in the relaxing state. By applying a voltage, the generated dielectric force pulls the droplet to move toward the region with thinner cell gap. As a result, the droplet is deformed by the substrates, causing the SA/V of the droplet to increase. When the voltage is removed, the droplet can return to its original place in order to minimize the surface energy. Owing to the absorption of glycerol at 1.55 μm, the shifted droplet can be used to attenuate an IR beam with the advantage of polarization independent. Fluidic devices based on this operation mechanism have potential applications in optical fiber switches, IR shutter, and variable optical attenuations.