Reconfigurable elastomeric graded-index optical elements controlled by light

Angelo Angelini; Federica Pirani; Francesca Frascella; Emiliano Descrovi

doi:10.1038/s41377-018-0005-1

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Reconfigurable elastomeric graded-index optical elements controlled by light

Original Articles

- Reconfigurable elastomeric graded-index optical elements controlled by light
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 7, Issue 4, Pages: 65-73(2018)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Torino IT-10129, Italy
  2.Center for Sustainable Future Technologies@PoliTo, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, C.so Trento 21, Torino IT-10129, Italy
- Author bio：
  
  Angelo Angelini (angelo.angelini@polito.it)
  Emiliano Descrovi (emiliano.descrovi@polito.it)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-018-0005-1
  CLC：
- Published：2018，
  
  Published Online：23 May 2018，
  
  Received：05 October 2017，
  
  Revised：05 February 2018，
  
  Accepted：07 February 2018
- Accepted：
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Angelini, A. et al. Reconfigurable elastomeric graded-index optical elements controlled by light. Light: Science & Applications, 7, 65-73 (2018).
DOI：

Angelini, A. et al. Reconfigurable elastomeric graded-index optical elements controlled by light. Light: Science & Applications, 7, 65-73 (2018). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-018-0005-1.

摘要

Abstract

In many optical applications

there is an increasing need for dynamically tunable optical elements that are able to shape the wavefront of light 'on demand'. In this work

an elastomeric easy-to-fabricate optical element whose transmission functions can be reversibly phase configured by visible light is demonstrated. The light responsivity of proper azopolymers incorporated within an elastomeric matrix is exploited to induce a light-controlled graded refractive index (GRIN) distribution within the bulk compound. The induced refractive index distribution is continuous and conformal to the intensity profile of the illumination at moderate power. A 100 mW doubled-frequency Nd:YAG Gaussian beam focused to a 650 μm waist is shown to induce a maximum relative refractive index change of ~0.4% in the elastomeric matrix

with an approximately parabolic profile. The restoring characteristics of the elastomeric matrix enable full recovery of the initial homogeneous refractive index distribution within a few seconds when the incident laser is switched off. As an exemplary application

the configurable GRIN element is used in a microscope-based imaging system for light control of the effective focal length.

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