Abstract

In this letter, we propose a voltage-controlled optical filter based on electrowetting. The device is made of a transparent cubic cell filled with two immiscible liquids having three indium tin oxide electrodes fabricated on the bottom substrate of the cell. A conductive droplet carrying a color filter is placed on the ITO electrode and the surrounding liquid is density-matched silicone oil. Under zero bias, the droplet is placed in the middle of the substrate and white light passes through the filter and we can see red light on the screen. When a voltage is applied to the device, the filter moves with the liquid based on electrowetting effect, we can see the white light on the screen. Due to the movement of the liquid, our device functions as an optical switcher. The switch time of the device is ~70 ms. The proposed device has a wide application in optical communication, electronic display, and optical switch.

© 2014 Chinese Optics Letters

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