A micromachined thermo-optical light modulator based on the VO2 phase transition

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

5-10-2004

Abstract

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin film undergoes a semiconductor-to-metal phase transition at about 68°C, which is accompanied with abrupt changes in its optical properties. A light modulator array has been developed by surface micromachining based on this thermally induced optical switching. The good thermal isolation and the small thermal mass of the micromachined pixels prevent thermal cross talk and provide advantages of low power consumption as well as high switching speed. The VO2 pixel design was optimized by thermal and optical simulations. Active VO2 thin film was fabricated by evaporation of vanadium film followed by thermal oxidation. The light modulator array has been realized in 64 × 64 format by surface micromachining using polyimide sacrificial layer. Preliminary characterization and testing result will be presented.

Identifier

2142733662 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Proceedings of SPIE the International Society for Optical Engineering

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1117/12.524239

ISSN

0277786X

First Page

127

Last Page

134

Volume

5348

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