Effect and Mechanism of Solidified Microstructure on Deformation Behavior, Mechanical Properties, and Residual Stress of Cu-Ni-Si Alloy.

Cu-Ni-Si alloy is the key raw material for the lead frame of large integrated circuits. The disordered grain orientation of alloy billet, high hardening rate, residual stress, and poor surface quality of cold working strips seriously affect its processability. In order to improve the cold-working properties of Cu-Ni-Si alloy, two kinds of C70250 copper alloy strips were produced through hot mold continuous casting (HMCC) and cold mold continuous casting (CMCC) technology. The effects of solidified microstructure on the cold-working deformation behavior, mechanical properties, and residual stress of the alloy were studied. The results show that C70250 copper alloys with columnar grain and equiaxed grain were prepared through HMCC and CMCC. After a 98% reduction in cold rolling, columnar grain strip surface quality was very good, and the elongation was still as high as 3.2%, which is 2.9 times that of equiaxed grain alloy. The residual stress of equiaxed grain strips reached 363 MPa, which is 2.7 times that of columnar grain strips. During the cold rolling process, equiaxed grain strips are prone to cause intersecting plane dislocations, stacking faults, shear bands, and grain breakage during large deformation cold rolling. The columnar grain strip causes parallel plane dislocations, stacking faults, and shearbands. Furthermore, the deformation structure was found to be uniform, and, ultimately, the alloy formed a fibrous structure. Therefore, the elongation and latter distortion of columnar grain strips improved after being put through large deformation cold rolling, which greatly reduced residual stress.

Adaptive lenticular microlens array based on voltage-induced waves at the surface of polyvinyl chloride/dibutyl phthalate gels.

We report a new approach to preparing a lenticular microlens array (LMA) using polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/dibutyl phthalate (DBP) gels. The PVD/DBP gels coated on a glass substrate form a membrane. With the aid of electrostatic repulsive force, the surface of the membrane can be reconfigured with sinusoidal waves by a DC voltage. The membrane with wavy surface functions as a LMA. By switching over the anode and cathode, the convex shape of each lenticular microlens in the array can be converted to the concave shape. Therefore, the LMA can present a large dynamic range. The response time is relatively fast and the driving voltage is low. With the advantages of compact structure, optical isotropy, and good mechanical stability, our LMA has potential applications in imaging, information processing, biometrics, and displays.

Electrically tunable microlens arrays based on polarization-independent optical phase of nano liquid crystal droplets dispersed in polymer matrix.

Electrically tunable focusing microlens arrays based on polarization independent optical phase of nano liquid crystal droplets dispersed in polymer matrix are demonstrated. Such an optical medium is optically isotropic which is so-called an optically isotropic liquid crystals (OILC). We not only discuss the optical theory of OILC, but also demonstrate polarization independent optical phase modulation based on the OILC. The experimental results and analytical discussion show that the optical phase of OILC microlens arrays results from mainly orientational birefringence which is much larger than the electric-field-induced birefringence (or Kerr effect). The response time of OILC microlens arrays is fast~5.3ms and the tunable focal length ranges from 3.4 mm to 3.8 mm. The potential applications are light field imaging systems, 3D integrating imaging systems and devices for augment reality.

Annular folded electrowetting liquid lens.

We report an annular folded electrowetting liquid lens. The front surface of the lens is coated with a circular reflection film, while the back surface of the lens is coated with a ring-shaped reflection film. This approach allows the lens to get optical power from the liquid-liquid interface three times so that the optical power is tripled. An analysis of the properties of the annular folded electrowetting liquid lens is presented along with the design, fabrication, and testing of a prototype. Our results show that the optical power of the proposed liquid lens can be enhanced from ∼20.1 to ∼50.2 m(-1) in comparison with that of the conventional liquid lens (aperture ∼3.9 mm). It can reduce the operating voltage by ∼10 V to reach the same diopter as a conventional liquid lens. Our liquid lens has the advantages of compact structure, light weight, and improved optical resolution.

Electrically actuated liquid iris.

We report an adaptive iris using dielectric liquids and a radial-interdigitated electrode. A black liquid is confined by a circular gasket with a donut shape. The surrounding of the black liquid is filled with an immiscible liquid. In the relaxing state, the black liquid obtains the largest clear aperture. By applying a voltage, the surface of the black liquid is stretched by the generated dielectric force, resulting in a reduction of its aperture. For the demonstrated iris, the diameter of the aperture can be changed from ∼4.7 mm to ∼1.2 mm when the voltage is applied from 0 to 70 V(rms). The aperture ratio is ∼94%. Owing to the radial-interdigitated electrode, the aperture size of the iris can be effectively switched with a reasonably fast response time. The optical switch is polarization-insensitive. The potential applications of our iris are light shutters, optical attenuators, biomimicry, and wearable devices.

Film patterned retarder for stereoscopic three-dimensional display using ink-jet printing method.

We propose a film patterned retarder (FPR) for stereoscopic three-dimensional display with polarization glasses using ink-jet printing method. Conventional FPR process requires coating of photo-alignment and then UV exposure using wire-grid mask, which is very expensive and difficult. The proposed novel fabrication method utilizes a plastic substrate made of polyether sulfone and an alignment layer, poly (4, 4' - (9, 9 -fluorenyl) diphenylene cyclobutanyltetracarboximide) (9FDA/CBDA) in which the former and the latter aligns reactive mesogen along and perpendicular to the rubbing direction, respectively. The ink-jet printing of 9FDA/CBDA line by line allows fabricating the cost effective FPR which can be widely applied for 3D display applications.

Temperature effects on dielectric liquid lenses.

The thermal stability of dielectric liquid lenses is studied by measuring the focal length at different temperatures. Two types of liquids lenses are investigated: Type-I (SL-5267/glycerol) and Type-II (glycerol/ BK7 matching liquid). A threshold-like behavior is found. Below the threshold temperature, the focal length is temperature insensitive. Above the threshold, the focal length changes exponentially with the temperature. Both refractive index and surface profile are responsible for the focal length change, although the former decreases linearly with the temperature. The threshold temperature of Type-I and Type-II liquid lens are 60°C and 40°C, respectively. Type-I lens shows a good temperature stability in a wide range. Moreover, the lens can recover to its original state even though it is operated at a high temperature.

An adaptive liquid lens with a reciprocating movement in a cylindrical hole.

We demonstrate a liquid droplet which can do a reciprocating movement in a cylindrical hole. The droplet in the hole exhibits a lens character. By applying a voltage, the border of the droplet is stretched to expand by the generated dielectric force. Due to the fixed volume, the dome of the droplet in the hole has to move toward the substrate without changing its surface profile. Therefore, the focal length of the droplet remains unchanged although the focal point is shifted. Once the voltage is removed, the droplet can return to its original state. The droplet with such a movement functions as an adaptive lens. Our lens can provide a high resolution (~114 lp/mm) whether or not it is actuated. The dynamic response time is reasonably fast. Integrating with a solid lens, the compound lens can provide a variable focal length.

Polymer-stabilized liquid crystal microlens array with large dynamic range and fast response time.

We report a polymer-stabilized liquid crystal (LC) microlens array with a large dynamic range and fast response time. The top substrate has a planar indium-tin oxide (ITO) electrode, while the bottom substrate has two patterned ITO electrodes for generating a fringing field and uniform longitudinal field. The fringing field is utilized to create the desired gradient refractive index profile in the LC/monomer layer, which is later stabilized by UV curing to form polymer networks. To tune the focal length, we apply a longitudinal field to change the lens shape. This microlens array offers several attractive features, such as large dynamic range, fast response time, and good mechanical stability.

Adaptive liquid iris based on electrowetting.

We report a tunable iris using two immiscible liquids. One liquid is opaque and conductive, while the other liquid is clear and insulating. The opaque liquid forms an iris-like opening in its central area on one glass substrate surface. The clear liquid is used to fill the outside space of the opaque liquid. In the voltage-off state, the opening presents the smallest aperture. When a voltage is applied to the liquids, the diameter of the iris is enlarged due to the electrowetting effect. Our results show that the aperture of the iris can be tuned from ~2.3 to ~6.1 mm as the applied voltage is changed from 0 to ~65 V. The response time and the transmittance in the opening area were measured to be ~200 ms and ~85%, respectively. Our adaptive iris has potential applications in beam controls, light shutters, and lab-on-a-chip devices.

A polarization converter array using a twisted-azimuthal liquid crystal in cylindrical polymer cavities.

We report a simple method to prepare an array of polarization converters using a twisted-azimuthal nematic liquid crystal (NLC) in cylindrical polymer cavities. When a NLC is filled in a cylindrical polymer cavity, LC in the cavity presents concentrically circular orientations. By treating LC on one side of the cavity with homogeneous alignment, a twisted-azimuthal texture is formed. Such a LC texture can convert a linear polarization light to either radial or azimuthal polarization light depending on the polarization direction of the incident light. The LC surface on the other side of the cavity is convex, so the light after passing through the cavity can be focused as well. The LC texture can be fixed firmly using polymer network. In comparison with previous polarization converters, our polarization converter has the merits of individually miniature size, array of pattern, and lens character. Our polarization converter array has potential applications in tight focusing, imaging, and material processing.

Switchable focus using a polymeric lenticular microlens array and a polarization rotator.

We demonstrate a flat polymeric lenticular microlens array using a mixture of rod-like diacrylate monomer and positive dielectric anisotropy nematic liquid crystal (LC). To create gradient refractive index profile in one microlens, we generate fringing fields from a planar top electrode and two striped bottom electrodes. After UV stabilization, the film is optically anisotropic and can stand alone. We then laminate this film on a 90° twisted-nematic LC cell, which works as a dynamic polarization rotator. The static polymeric lenticular lens exhibits focusing effect only to the extraordinary ray, but no optical effect to the ordinary ray. Such an integrated lens system offers several advantages, such as low voltage, fast response time, and temperature insensitivity, and can be used for switchable 2D/3D displays.

Liquid crystal pump.

We report a dielectrically actuated liquid crystal (LC) pump. A small volume of LC forms a pillar-like droplet in a cylindrical hole which partially touches the bottom substrate with embedded interdigitated electrodes. By applying a voltage, the LC droplet can be largely stretched along the electrode direction by the generated dielectric force, which in turn exerts a pressure to displace a small volume of fluid on the opposite side of the chamber. Once the voltage is removed, the LC droplet returns to its initial state. The LC droplet with such a reciprocating movement behaves like a pump. In this work, the actuation mechanism of the LC pump is presented and the performance evaluated experimentally. Our LC pump has the following advantages: simple structure, easy fabrication, compact size, high precision, low power consumption, and relatively fast response time. It is promising for applications in lens actuators, biotechnology, drug delivery, and other lab-on-a-chip devices.

Optically anisotropic microlens array film directly formed on a single substrate.

An optically anisotropic microlens array film directly formed on a single substrate is demonstrated. UV curable diacrylate monomers are coated as a film on the substrate. Under the action of fringing field, not only the film surface is flattened by the generated dielectric force but also the monomers are reoriented to form a gradient refractive index (GRIN) distribution in the film. Via UV exposure, the GRIN distribution is fixed and the polymeric film behaves as a microlens array. The fabrication process is simple and the film offers a switchable focus through controlling the polarization direction of the incident light. Integrating with a 90° twisted-nematic liquid crystal cell, our polymeric microlens array film shows great potential for switchable 2D/3D autostereoscopic displays.

Adaptive liquid lens actuated by liquid crystal pistons.

An adaptive liquid lens actuated by liquid crystal (LC) pistons is demonstrated. It adopts fluid pressure introduced by the reciprocating movement of LC droplets to regulate the liquid-air interface which, in turn, changes the optical power of the resultant liquid lens. The competitive features are compact size, simple fabrication, good optical performance, reasonably fast response time and low power consumption. Since the actuation power can be enhanced by increasing the number of LC pistons rather than the operating voltages, it is possible to significantly actuate a large-aperture lens or lens array at a relatively low operating voltage.

Gradient polymer network liquid crystal with a large refractive index change.

A simple approach for preparing gradient polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC) with a large refractive index change is demonstrated. To control the effective refractive index at a given cell position, we applied a voltage to a homogeneous cell containing LC/diacrylate monomer mixture to generate the desired tilt angle and then stabilize the LC orientation with UV-induced polymer network. By varying the applied voltage along with the cells' movement, a PNLC with a gradient refractive index distribution is obtained. In comparison with conventional approaches using patterned photomask or electrode, our method offers following advantages: large refractive index change, freedom to design specific index profile, and large panel capability. Potential applications include tunable-focus lenses, prism gratings, phase modulators, and other adaptive photonic devices.

Optical switch based on variable aperture.

We report on a pixel whose aperture can be varied electrically. The pixel is confined by a hole-patterned polymer wall and a dielectric liquid forms a ring shape around the wall surface. Without an electric field, the pixel has the largest aperture. The applied fringing field stretches the liquid surface, leading to a decrease in the aperture size. The switchable aperture ratio of the pixel is over 80% and the response time is ~10 ms. Such a device is useful for an optical attenuator, a light shutter, an adaptive iris, and an information display.

Voltage-expandable liquid crystal surface.

Based on dielectrophoretic effect, we report a novel approach which can extensively spread a liquid crystal (LC) interface. With interdigitated striped electrodes, the droplets can be stretched along the striped electrode direction; while with zigzag interdigitated electrodes, the droplets can be further stretched sidewise. In our demonstration, the occupied area of a 1.9-mm-aperture LC droplet doped with 1.2 wt% black dye could be expanded over ∼3.5× at 78 V(rms). The spreading and recovering times were measured to be ∼0.39 s and ∼0.75 s, respectively. The slower response time confirms the extreme expanding of the LC surface. The contrast ratio is over ∼120 : 1 in transmissive mode. Color light switch was also demonstrated by spreading colored-dye doped LC droplets. The mechanical stability of the device was also evaluated. Liquid devices based on this cell structure have the advantages of good stability, simple operation and low power consumption. This work opens a new gateway for voltage controllable, polarization-insensitive, and broadband liquid photonic devices which may find numerous applications in switchable windows, variable optical attenuators, and displays.

Novel optical switch with a reconfigurable dielectric liquid droplet.

We demonstrated a novel optical switch with a reconfigurable dielectric liquid droplet. The device consists of a clear liquid droplet (glycerol) surrounded by a black liquid (dye-doped liquid crystal). In the voltage-off state, the incident light passing through the clear liquid droplet is absorbed by the black liquid, resulting in a dark state. In the voltage-on state, the dome of the clear liquid droplet is uplifted by the dielectric force to form a light pipe which in turn transmits the incident light. Upon removing the voltage, the droplet recovers to its original shape and the switch is closed. We also demonstrated a red color light switch with ~10:1 contrast ratio and ~300 ms response time. Devices based on such an operation mechanism will find attractive applications in light shutter, tunable iris, variable optical attenuators, and displays.

Optical switch using a deformable liquid droplet.

An optical switch based on a deformable liquid droplet is demonstrated. The device consists of a clear liquid droplet surrounded by a black liquid. In the voltage-off state, the incident light is absorbed by the black liquid. As the voltage increases, the dielectric force reshapes the droplet by uplifting its dome. As the dome touches the top substrate, a clear channel is opened, allowing the incident light to pass through. Once the voltage is removed, the deformed droplet relaxes back to its original shape and the channel is closed. Devices based on such an operation mechanism have potential applications in light shutters, variable optical attenuators, adaptive irises, and displays.