Elastomeric optical elements with deformable surface topographies: applications to force measurements, tunable light transmission and light focusing

Grzybowski, Bartosz A.; Qin, Dong; Haag, Rainer; Whitesides, George M.

doi:10.1016/s0924-4247(00)00421-0

Cited by 38 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…[15] Thirdly, lTMs provide an inexpensive route for fabricating microstructures that are difficult, very expensive, or impossible to produce with existing methods, such as features with smoothly varying (i.e., rounded or wedged) heights and a broad range of curvatures, which could find applications in elastomeric microvalves, [17] microlenses, [4] holographic couplers, [28] and integrated micro-optical±micro-fluidic systems.…”

Section: ±1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Elastomeric Molds with Tunable Microtopography

et al. 2004

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Due to their low cost, amenability to high-throughput molding, and wide range of physical and chemical properties, polymers are becoming essential materials in the development of microdevices such as micro-optical, micromechanical, and microfluidic systems. A highly successful example is soft lithography, [1] based on micromolding of the elastomer poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) from a microfabricated master; due to their elasticity and inertness, the PDMS replicas can in turn be used repeatedly (either as molds, stamps, or microfluidic channels) for microstructuring a rich variety of materials.[1]However, any molding technique is limited by the fabrication of the first master mold, most often done by traditional photolithography. Photolithography typically results in a) features of uniform height and nearly vertical sidewallsÐa severe limitation in the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) (i.e., multiple-height and/or smoothly varying height) microstructures; and b) features that cannot be easily alteredÐrequiring the photolithographic processing of a new mold for each design iteration. Three-dimensional features can be fabricated using techniques such as grayscale photolithography, [2] isotropic etching of glass or silicon, [3] photoresist reflow, [4] and serial stereolithography (e.g., using ion or laser beams [5] ), but the produced features are permanent. In most cases, only a small range of curvatures and depths (rounded-photoresist heights < 15 lm [4] ) is possible. Re-configurability is presently limited to thin films (e.g., using digital mirror projectors, [6] microfluidic delivery of proteins, [7] or etchants [8] ), serial patterning (e.g., using energetic beams [5] or ªinkjetº approaches [9] ), and/or sample-wide modifications (such as thermal treatments [10,11] or mechanical deformation [1,12±15] ). As an alternative to the mold fabrication strategies mentioned above, we have devised ªmicrotunableº molds (lTMs) whose microtopography can be tuned post-fabrication at certain pre-defined locations, as depicted in Figure 1. First, a photolithographically patterned master (Fig. 1A) is replicated in PDMS. The PDMS replica is bonded to a thin (ranging from 8±18 lm thick) membrane of PDMS (Figs. 1B, C) so as to form sealed cavities that can be individually or collectively pressurized. Shown in Figure 1C is a cross-section of a finished lTM (cut after being used) featuring six individually addressable 3 cm long, 250 lm wide rectangular membranes (thickness t = 17 lm) The 30 lm deep cavities can be inflated or deflated by applying a pressure difference between the two sides of the membrane (Figs. 1D±G), either by means of house vacuum (approx. ±75 kPa, solid arrows) or pressurized gas through a pressure regulator (hollow arrows); sliced crosssections of the corresponding polymer replicas (in PDMS) are shown on the right (optical pictures). Replication from lTMs with other polymers such as polyurethane is also possible (see Experimental). Pressure differentials can be re-configured in the time scale of a...

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Section: ±1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Elastomeric Molds with Tunable Microtopography

et al. 2004

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“…Elastomeric substrates could represent simple, low‐cost and effective alternatives for the fabrication of optical elements that can be stretched and deformed. Transparent stretchable optical components operating in transmission mode and made of silicone have been demonstrated for the fabrication of lenses , light valves , transmission diffraction gratings and wave‐front engineering devices . Since these devices work in transmission, light passing through the polymer undergoes absorption, refraction and scattering due to defects in the polymeric matrix.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanocomposite‐based stretchable optics

Ghisleri

Siano

Ravagnan³

et al. 2013

Laser & Photonics Reviews

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Stretchable and conformable optical devices open up very exciting perspectives for the fabrication of systems incorporating diffracting and optical power in a single element. Supersonic cluster beam implantation of silver nanoparticles in an elastomeric substrate grooved by molding allows effective fabrication of cheap and simple stretchable optical elements able to withstand thousands of deformations and stretching cycles without any degradation of their optical properties. The nanocomposite‐based reflective optical devices were characterized both morphologically and optically showing excellent performances and stability compared to similar devices fabricated with standard techniques. The nanocomposite‐based devices can therefore be applied to arbitrary curved nonoptical grade surfaces in order to achieve optical power and to minimize aberrations like astigmatism. The high resilience of the nanocomposite material on which the devices are based allows them to be peeled and reused multiple times.

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“…In addition to their use as actuators, elastomers such as PDMS have also been used for making deformable optical devices such as diffraction gratings and lenses [5], [6], [10]- [12]. Deformable grating devices have been hindered by low degrees of tunability and slow response times.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variable Wave Plate via Tunable Form-Birefringent Structures

Wilson

Lin

2008

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

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We propose a compact and low-cost design for a variable wave plate using tunable form-birefringent grating structures in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The described device operates through PDMS deformation via electrostatically actuated transparent electrodes. The optical and mechanical properties of tunable form-birefringent structures are modeled using birefringence, rigorous coupled-wave analysis, and simple structural mechanics theory. The device is fabricated by a form of soft nanoimprint lithography. The optical properties are characterized for different structure geometries. Operating principles were verified through testing of the completed device. The experimental results and theoretical study show that an irregular grating structure performs better than a periodic subwavelength structure.[ 2007-0303]Index Terms-Form birefringence, nanoimprint lithography (NIL), optical polarization, tunable wave plate.

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Elastomeric optical elements with deformable surface topographies: applications to force measurements, tunable light transmission and light focusing

Cited by 38 publications

References 14 publications

Elastomeric Molds with Tunable Microtopography

Elastomeric Molds with Tunable Microtopography

Nanocomposite‐based stretchable optics

Variable Wave Plate via Tunable Form-Birefringent Structures

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