Electroactive polymer-based spatial light modulator with high reliability and fast response speed

Abstract

An electroactive polymer (EAP)-based MOEMS spatial light modulator (SLM), which shows high reliability and fast response speed, is reported in this work. The reliability is achieved by designing the SLM without direct contact between electrodes and deformable EAP surface; while the fast response speed is obtained by optimizing the microstructure of the EAP material. The concept of SLM, material optimization approach, fabrication processes, as well as characterization methods, are described. The SLM is driven by relatively low voltage, which is 200 V dc and 60 V ac and the response time is 35 μs. The manufactured SLM shows no degradation or breakdown after millions of actuation cycles, indicating a good reliability of the device. C 2011 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Active dielectric antenna on chip for spatial light modulation

“…In particular, we demonstrate a silicon-based spatial light modulator (SLM) which is the key element in many free-space optical systems 13 . Compared to the existing SLMs 14 15 16 17 , this silicon-based device offers both high speed and the capability of large-scale integration.…”