Creating Tunable Micro-Optical Components via Photopolymerization 3D Printing Combined with Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals
Based on additive manufacturing via photopolymerization, this study combines polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) technology with 3D printing technology to produce tunable micro-optical components with switchable diffraction or focusing characteristics. The diffraction grating and Fresnel zone pl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/1/26 |
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| author | Sheng-Yuan Zhang Hsi-Fu Shih Chuen-Lin Tien Han-Yen Tu |
| author_facet | Sheng-Yuan Zhang Hsi-Fu Shih Chuen-Lin Tien Han-Yen Tu |
| author_sort | Sheng-Yuan Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Based on additive manufacturing via photopolymerization, this study combines polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) technology with 3D printing technology to produce tunable micro-optical components with switchable diffraction or focusing characteristics. The diffraction grating and Fresnel zone plate are the research targets. Their structures are designed and simulated to achieve expected optical functions. A liquid crystal display (LCD) 3D printer is used to produce structures on transparent conductive substrates. The printed structures are filled with PDLCs and covered with transparent conductive substrates to achieve tunable functions. The proposed configurations are implemented and verified. The experimental results show that the diffraction efficiency of the 0th order increases from 15% to 50% for the diffraction grating and the focusing spot intensity decreases from 74% to 12% after the application of an electric field. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed tunable optical component configurations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d5783144753e4308946b3e7d4960220e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj-art-d5783144753e4308946b3e7d4960220e2025-01-24T13:41:53ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2024-12-011612610.3390/mi16010026Creating Tunable Micro-Optical Components via Photopolymerization 3D Printing Combined with Polymer-Dispersed Liquid CrystalsSheng-Yuan Zhang0Hsi-Fu Shih1Chuen-Lin Tien2Han-Yen Tu3Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, TaiwanDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, TaiwanDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Feng Chia University, Taichung 40724, TaiwanDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Culture University, Taipei 11114, TaiwanBased on additive manufacturing via photopolymerization, this study combines polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) technology with 3D printing technology to produce tunable micro-optical components with switchable diffraction or focusing characteristics. The diffraction grating and Fresnel zone plate are the research targets. Their structures are designed and simulated to achieve expected optical functions. A liquid crystal display (LCD) 3D printer is used to produce structures on transparent conductive substrates. The printed structures are filled with PDLCs and covered with transparent conductive substrates to achieve tunable functions. The proposed configurations are implemented and verified. The experimental results show that the diffraction efficiency of the 0th order increases from 15% to 50% for the diffraction grating and the focusing spot intensity decreases from 74% to 12% after the application of an electric field. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed tunable optical component configurations.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/1/263D printingphotopolymerizationpolymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC)diffraction gratingFresnel zone plate |
| spellingShingle | Sheng-Yuan Zhang Hsi-Fu Shih Chuen-Lin Tien Han-Yen Tu Creating Tunable Micro-Optical Components via Photopolymerization 3D Printing Combined with Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals Micromachines 3D printing photopolymerization polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) diffraction grating Fresnel zone plate |
| title | Creating Tunable Micro-Optical Components via Photopolymerization 3D Printing Combined with Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals |
| title_full | Creating Tunable Micro-Optical Components via Photopolymerization 3D Printing Combined with Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals |
| title_fullStr | Creating Tunable Micro-Optical Components via Photopolymerization 3D Printing Combined with Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Creating Tunable Micro-Optical Components via Photopolymerization 3D Printing Combined with Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals |
| title_short | Creating Tunable Micro-Optical Components via Photopolymerization 3D Printing Combined with Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals |
| title_sort | creating tunable micro optical components via photopolymerization 3d printing combined with polymer dispersed liquid crystals |
| topic | 3D printing photopolymerization polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) diffraction grating Fresnel zone plate |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/1/26 |
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