Guerrero and Oliva 2014: Optical wavelength tuning via actuation of a fluidic grating

Raphael A. Guerrero* and Sarah Jaye C. Oliva, Optical wavelength tuning via actuation of a fluidic grating, Optical Engineering 53(2), 025104 (February 2014)

*Ateneo de Manila University, Department of Physics, Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1108, Philippines

Abstract

Deformable optical elements may be physically altered through fluid displacement. We imprint a grating surface onto an elastomeric membrane by soft lithography. The membrane is installed as a flexible wall of a sealed fluidic chamber. Injection of excess fluid into the chamber induces expansion of the membrane, effectively varying the groove spacing of the imprinted grating. In transmission experiments using a broadband light source, we are able to achieve a 127.2-nm shift in peak wavelength with an injected fluid volume of 0.56 ml. A paraboloid model of the change in curvature of the grating during expansion accurately describes our experimental results. © 2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) [DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.53.2.025104]

Keywords: diffractive optical elements; polymers; optical devices.

Paper 131326 received Aug. 28, 2013; revised manuscript received Jan. 13, 2014; accepted for publication Jan. 23, 2014; published online Feb. 20, 2014.

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Ateneo Physics faculty Dr. Raphael A. Guerrero is NAST Outstanding Young Scientist and TWAS Prize awardee for 2013