A new OptoFluidic Modulator.
© 2011 EPFL
Optofluidic modulator based on peristaltic nematogen microflows.
Nematogens rotate by the application of external fields, thereby enabling optical modulation. This principle has had a profound impact on our daily lives through the plethora of liquid-crystal displays in use around us. However, the wider use of nematic liquid crystals, particularly in microdisplays and information processing, has been hampered by their slow response times. The team of Prof. Demetri Psaltis (OL - Optics Laboratory) introduce an optofluidic modulator that exhibits a submillisecond (250 µs) symmetric response and can operate at frequencies up to 1 kHz. The modulator is based on peristaltic nematogen microflows realized in polydimethylsiloxane microfluidics. Together with large-scale, vertical integration and piezoelectric nanotechnologies, this optofluidic paradigm can enable high-density and three-dimensional architectures of fast modulators.
J. G. Cuennet et al., Nature Photonics, DOI:doi:10.1038/nphoton.2011.18 (2011)