Voltage programmable diffraction grating device

In this research, voltage programmable liquid device has been introduced, studied and a relationship was verified for the electromagnetic relationship between the parameters of the device and the switching application was characterised. The basic operation of the device is to create sinusoidal undulation (wrinkle) on the surface of oil. This wrinkle is used as a variable diffraction grating that changes the wrinkle amplitude in proportion to the applied voltage squared. The device consists of a thin layer (between 8 μm and 50 μm) of 1-Decanol oil which coats a 0.5 μm thick layer of dielectric (SU8 photoresist) that itself has been deposited on to a glass substrate that is patterned with the indium tin oxide electrodes. The pattern of electrodes (interdigitated electrodes) was produced by standard photolithography techniques and the average distance between the electrodes plus the gap between the electrodes (p) that were produced in different devices were 10μm, 20μm, 40μm, 80μm, 160μm, 240μm and 320 μm. The main area of research was focused on studying the Decanol oil with single frequency 20 kHz squarewave. The square wave voltage V is applied between adjacent electrodes in the interdigitated array such that highly non-uniform electric field profiles are created between the electrodes. The non-uniform electric field create wrinkles (undulation) in the oil surface that is used in the device. That wrinkle is created by dielectrophoresis forces which act to collect the fluid in sinusoidal or nonsinusoidal shape depending on the oil in use. In this research the focus is on oil that produces sinusoidal shape profile.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

mphil

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Nottingham Trent University

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Al-Shabib, W

Language dc:language

en