CN110888231B - Light beam adjuster based on dielectric wetting liquid prism array - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a beam adjuster based on a dielectric wetting liquid prism array, which is formed by stacking an upper layer and a lower layer of four identical double-liquid prism units, and the structure and the arrangement mode of the beam adjuster are shown in the figure. The single double-liquid prism unit consists of a prism cavity (1), an electrode (2), an insulating layer (3), a hydrophobic layer (4), a transparent conducting layer (5), a lower cover plate (6), conducting liquid (7) and insulating liquid (8); the side wall of the cavity is sequentially provided with an electrode (2), an insulating layer (3) and a hydrophobic layer (4), and a transparent conducting layer (5) is coated on the lower cover plate (6) and is in contact with a conducting liquid (7); the conductive liquid (7) and the insulating liquid (8) which have different refractive indexes, are not mutually soluble and have the same density form a liquid-liquid interface inside the prism cavity, and different working voltages are applied through the electrode (2) to change the shape of the liquid-liquid interface, so that the adjustment of the light beams is realized, including beam expanding, beam shrinking, translation, convergence and divergence of parallel light beams, and collimation, convergence and divergence of non-parallel light beams.

Description

A beam adjuster based on a dielectric-wetting liquid prism array

technical field

The invention relates to a beam adjuster, in particular to a beam adjuster based on a dielectric wetting liquid prism array, and belongs to the technical fields of photoelectric imaging, photoelectric detection, and optical information processing devices.

Background technique

Since entering the 21st century, optics have ushered in a period of great development. Optical collimators and optical deflectors have been widely used in mobile communications, medical equipment, digital photography and military fields. Most of the traditional mechanical beam deflectors are composed of multiple prisms or mirrors, which have the problems of complex structure, high cost and bulky equipment. And once its structure is determined, the deflection angle will also be determined, and the deflection angle can only be changed by mechanical movement of the optical device. In response to this phenomenon, some scholars have proposed non-mechanical beam deflectors based on electro-optic effects, such as beam deflectors made of thermoplastic electro-optic polymers [1] and liquid crystal beam deflectors [2], which have small size, The advantages of low cost and easy operation. However, the above-mentioned devices have problems of excessive driving voltage and small deflection angle, which limit their application range to a certain extent.

The dual-liquid prism unit based on the dielectric wetting effect controls the shape of the liquid-liquid interface by adjusting the operating voltage to control the beam deflection, and its maximum deflection angle can reach 19.06°. By arranging the four double-liquid prism units into an array in a certain form, the beam can be adjusted in various ways, including beam expansion, contraction, translation, convergence and divergence of parallel beams, as well as collimation and convergence of non-parallel beams. and divergence. Because the double liquid prism unit has the advantages of small size, low driving voltage, fast response speed and easy arraying [3-4]. Therefore, the beam adjuster composed of the double liquid prism unit array will be widely used in the fields of photoelectric imaging, photoelectric detection and optical information processing.

references:

[1] Hsiu-Jen Wang, Brent Polishak, and Cheng-Sheng Huang, Electro_opticpolymer prism beam deflector, Optical Engineering, Vol.48, No.11(2009) 114601-114607.

[2] Zhang cai, Huang Yongmei, and Qi Bo, Beam Steering Control Based on Liquid Crystal Spatial Light Modulator, CHINESE JOURNAL OF LASERS, Vol.38, No.9(2011)0905005-0905010.

[3] T. Krupenkin, S. Yang, and P. Mach, Tunable liquid microlens, Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 82, (2003) 316–318.

[4] Armin Werber and Hans Zappe, Tunable microfluidic microlenses, Applied Optics, Vol. 44, No. 16, (2005) 3238-3245.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is: in view of the defects in the prior art, a beam adjuster based on a dielectric wetting liquid prism array is proposed to realize the adjustment of the beam, including beam expansion, beam reduction, translation and convergence of parallel beams and divergence, as well as collimation, convergence and divergence of non-parallel beams (convergent and divergent).

In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution of the present invention is: a beam adjuster based on a dielectric wetting liquid prism array, which is composed of four double-liquid prism units with the same structure, and the double-liquid prism units are divided into upper and lower layers. Stacked and placed, four biprism units are placed symmetrically in the center;

Each double-liquid prism unit is composed of a prism cavity (1), an electrode (2), an insulating layer (3), a hydrophobic layer (4), a transparent conductive layer (5), a lower cover sheet (6), and a conductive liquid (7) and insulating liquid (8); the prism cavity is placed in the outermost layer, and the side wall of the cavity is sequentially provided with electrodes, insulating layers and hydrophobic layers from outside to inside, and the interior of the hydrophobic layer has conductive liquid and insulating layers Liquid, the bottom of the prism cavity has an opening, the opening is provided with a lower cover, the upper surface of the lower cover is coated with a layer of transparent conductive layer, and is in contact with the conductive liquid; Conductive liquid and insulating liquid that are immiscible and have comparable densities form a liquid-liquid interface inside the prism cavity.

Further, the four double-liquid prism units are stacked in two upper and lower layers, the insulating liquid (8) of the upper double-liquid prism unit is located at the top, the conductive liquid (7) is located at the bottom, and the conductive liquid (7) of the lower double-liquid prism unit is located at the bottom. At the top, the insulating liquid (8) is at the bottom.

Further, with the help of the dielectric wetting effect, a working voltage of 0-70V is applied through the electrodes to change the shape of the liquid-liquid interface inside the liquid prism cavity, thereby realizing the adjustment of the light beam; when U1=U3=U5=U7 =65V, U2=U4=U6=U8=10V, the liquid-liquid interface is a parallel plane to realize the translation of the parallel beam; when U1=U4=U5=U8=65V, U2=U3=U6=U7=10V When U1=U4=U5=U8=10V, U2=U3=U6=U7=65V, the liquid-liquid interface is The outwardly inclined plane is used to realize the constriction of parallel beams; when U1=U4=U5=U8=10V, U2=U3=U6=U7=36V, the interface is a biconvex spherical surface to realize the convergence of parallel beams, and the collimation, convergence and divergence of non-parallel beams; when U1=U4=U5=U8=65V, U2=U3=U6=U7=36V, the interface is a double concave spherical surface to realize the divergence of parallel beams, and Collimation, convergence and divergence of non-parallel beams.

Further, the working performance of the beam adjuster depends on the deflection ability of the liquid prism unit to the incident light, and the deflection ability of the liquid prism unit depends on the refractive index of the conductive liquid (7) and the insulating liquid (8), and the saturation of the interface. Contact angle.

Further, the liquid-liquid interface adopts a three-liquid double interface, that is, a liquid prism unit with an insulating liquid (8) in the middle and a conductive liquid (7) on both sides is used to replace the upper and lower double-liquid prism units. The device structure is simplified, and the influence of the prism cavity on the deflection angle is reduced, so that the control precision can be improved and the application range can be widened.

Further, the number of the liquid prism units of the present invention is not limited to four, and the number may be a multiple of four.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention adopts the above technical solution and has the following technical effects: the present invention arranges the liquid prism units based on the dielectric wetting effect in an array, and designs a liquid prism array based on the dielectric wetting effect. The beam adjuster can realize various adjustment functions of the beam, including beam expansion, beam reduction, translation, convergence and divergence of parallel beams, as well as collimation, convergence and divergence of non-parallel beams. The adjuster has the advantages of simple structure, easy manufacture and low cost.

The innovation is:

1) The beam adjuster based on the dielectric-wetting liquid prism array is composed of multiple double-liquid prism units, each of which can be controlled independently, and has the advantages of simple structure, convenient processing and convenient control.

2) The beam adjuster based on the dielectric wetting liquid prism array can realize various beam adjustment functions without changing the structure of the device, just by changing the working voltage, including beam expansion and beam reduction of parallel beams , translation, convergence and divergence, as well as collimation, divergence and convergence of non-parallel beams.

Description of drawings

The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2( a ) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for realizing the function of parallel light beam expansion.

FIG. 2(b) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for realizing the function of parallel light beam reduction.

FIG. 2( c ) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for realizing the parallel light translation function.

FIG. 3( a ) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for realizing the function of converging parallel light.

FIG. 3(b) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for realizing the function of parallel light divergence.

FIG. 4( a ) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for realizing the function of converging light collimation.

FIG. 4( b ) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for realizing the function of converging light and diverging.

FIG. 4( c ) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for adjusting the converging angle of the converging light.

FIG. 5( a ) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for realizing the collimation function of divergent light.

Fig. 5(b) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for realizing the function of divergent light converging.

FIG. 5( c ) is a working principle diagram of the present invention for realizing the function of adjusting the divergence angle of divergent light.

Numeral description: prism cavity 1 , electrode 2 , insulating layer 3 , hydrophobic layer 4 , transparent conductive layer 5 , lower cover sheet 6 , conductive liquid 7 , insulating liquid 8 .

It should be noted that: in order to explain the working principle of the beam adjuster intuitively and clearly, Figure 2(a) ~ Figure 2(c), Figure 3(a) ~ Figure 3(b), Figure 4(a) ~ Figure 4 In (c) and Figures 5(a) to 5(c), solid and dashed lines are used to replace their original structures.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these examples are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the present invention.

The present invention proposes a beam adjuster based on a dielectric wetting liquid prism array, the structure of which is shown in FIG. 1 , and consists of four identical double-liquid prism units, and a single double-liquid prism unit consists of a prism cavity 1 , electrode 2, insulating layer 3, hydrophobic layer 4, transparent conductive layer 5, lower cover sheet 6, conductive liquid 7 and insulating liquid 8; A transparent conductive layer is coated and is in contact with the conductive liquid; the conductive liquid and the insulating liquid with different refractive indices, incompatible with each other and with the same density form a liquid-liquid interface inside the prism cavity.

According to the needs of the present invention, the shape of the double-liquid prism unit is a rectangular parallelepiped with a square cross section, its specific size is 10mm×10mm×20mm, the thickness of the insulating layer is about 3.5μm, and the thickness of the hydrophobic layer is about 0.5μm. It can be C ₈ H ₁₅ IN ₂ (density 1.2124g/cm ³ , refractive index 1.572, surface tension 54.7mN/m), and the insulating liquid uses KF56 silicone oil (density 0.995g/cm ³ , refractive index 1.497, surface tension 26.5mN/ m) Mixture with a small amount of organic additive phenyl bromide (density 1.495 g/cm ³ , refractive index 1.5590, surface tension 38.14 mN/m). The density difference between the conductive liquid and the insulating liquid is adjusted by the mixing ratio of silicone oil and organic additives. The difference in viscosity coefficient can be adjusted by adding surfactant to the conductive liquid.

The present invention proposes a beam adjuster that realizes beam expansion, beam reduction and translation of parallel beams, and its working principle is shown in Figures 2(a) to 2(b). The liquid-liquid interfaces of the upper and lower double-liquid prism units are parallel to each other and have a certain inclination angle. When the inclination angle is as shown in Fig. 2(a), according to Snell's theorem, the beam will be translated to both sides of the prism array to achieve the purpose of beam expansion. Similarly, when the inclination angle is as shown in the attachment, the beam will be translated to the middle of the prism array, so as to achieve the effect of beam reduction. When the inclination angle is as shown in Fig. 3(a), all the beams will be shifted to the left side of the prism array as a whole to realize the function of shifting the beams.

The present invention proposes a beam adjuster for realizing the convergence and divergence of parallel light, the working principle of which is shown in Figures 3(a) to 3(b). The liquid-liquid interface of the upper and lower double-liquid prism units has a certain curvature. When the interface is as shown in Figure 3(a), the device in this state is to realize the convergence of parallel beams. First, the parallel beam is incident vertically, and passes through the liquid-liquid interface of the upper and lower double-liquid prism units in turn, and refraction occurs at the interface. Since the insulating liquid and the conductive liquid have a certain refractive index difference, the beam will A certain deflection angle is obtained, and the two deflection directions are the same. When the light beam passes through the bottom of the lower double liquid prism unit, the light beam will also be refracted, and the deflection direction is the same as the first two deflection directions. The curvature of the interface is controlled by applying a working voltage to the electrodes, so as to control the deflection angle of the beam at the interface, thereby achieving the purpose of converging parallel beams. When the liquid-liquid interface is shown in Fig. 3(b), the function realized by the device in this state is the divergence of parallel beams. The bending direction of the interface has changed. It is no longer curved outwards, but curved inwards. The purpose is to make the direction of light deflection consistent and improve its light control performance.

The present invention proposes a beam adjuster that realizes the collimation, divergence and convergence angle adjustment of convergent light, and its working principle is shown in Figures 4(a) to 4(c). The liquid-liquid interface of the upper and lower two-layer double-liquid prism units has a certain curvature, and the condensed light is at the top of the upper prism unit, the liquid-liquid interface, and the liquid-liquid interface of the lower prism unit and its bottom. Refraction occurs, and its deflection direction is the same, and the curvature of the two liquid-liquid interfaces is changed by controlling the operating voltage, so as to achieve the above functions. When the interface is as shown in FIG. 4( a ), the device in this state is to realize the collimation of the condensed light. When the interface is shown in FIG. 4(b), the device in this state is to realize the divergence of the condensed light, and the curvature of the interface is greater than that when the condensed light is collimated. When the interface is as shown in FIG. 4(c), the function of the device in this state is to adjust the convergence angle of the condensing light, and the curvature of the interface is smaller than that when the condensing light is collimated.

The present invention proposes a beam adjuster that realizes the collimation, divergence and divergence angle adjustment of divergent light, and its working principle is shown in Figures 5(a) to 5(c). The liquid-liquid interface of the upper and lower two-layer double-liquid prism units has a certain curvature, and the divergent light is at the top of the upper prism unit, the liquid-liquid interface, and the liquid-liquid interface of the lower prism unit and its bottom. Refraction occurs, and its deflection direction is the same, and the curvature of the two liquid-liquid interfaces is changed by controlling the operating voltage, so as to achieve the above functions. When the interface is as shown in Fig. 5(a), the device in this state is to realize the collimation of divergent light. When the interface is as shown in FIG. 5(b), the device in this state is to realize the convergence of divergent light, and the curvature of the interface is greater than that when the divergent light is collimated. When the interface is shown in FIG. 5( c ), the function of the device in this state is to adjust the divergence angle of the divergent light, and the curvature of the interface is smaller than that when the divergent light is collimated.

The above descriptions are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but any equivalent modifications or changes made by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the contents disclosed in the present invention should be included in the within the scope of protection described in the claims.

Claims (6)

1. A beam adjuster based on a dielectric wetting liquid prism array, characterized in that: it is composed of four double-liquid prism units with the same structure, and the double-liquid prism units are divided into upper and lower two layers stacked and placed, and four double-liquid prism units are stacked. The prism unit is placed symmetrically in the center; Each double-liquid prism unit is composed of a prism cavity (1), an electrode (2), an insulating layer (3), a hydrophobic layer (4), a transparent conductive layer (5), a lower cover sheet (6), and a conductive liquid (7) and insulating liquid (8); the prism cavity is placed in the outermost layer, and the side wall of the cavity is sequentially provided with electrodes, insulating layers and hydrophobic layers from outside to inside, and the interior of the hydrophobic layer has conductive liquid and insulating layers Liquid, the bottom of the prism cavity has an opening, the opening is provided with a lower cover, the upper surface of the lower cover is coated with a layer of transparent conductive layer, and is in contact with the conductive liquid; Conductive liquid and insulating liquid that are immiscible and have comparable densities form a liquid-liquid interface inside the prism cavity. 2. The beam adjuster based on dielectric wetting liquid prism array according to claim 1, it is characterized in that: four double liquid prism units are stacked and placed in two upper and lower layers, and the insulating liquid (8) of the upper layer double liquid prism unit At the top, the conductive liquid (7) is at the bottom, the conductive liquid (7) of the lower double-liquid prism unit is at the top, and the insulating liquid (8) is at the bottom. 3. The beam adjuster based on the dielectric wetting liquid prism array according to claim 1, characterized in that: by means of the dielectric wetting effect, a working voltage of 0-70V is applied through the electrodes to change the interior of the liquid prism cavity The shape of the liquid-liquid interface can adjust the beam; when U1=U3=U5=U7=65V, U2=U4=U6=U8=10V, the liquid-liquid interface is a parallel plane to realize parallel beam translation; when U1=U4=U5=U8=65V, U2=U3=U6=U7=10V, the liquid-liquid interface is an inwardly inclined plane to realize beam expansion of parallel beams; when U1=U4= When U5=U8=10V, U2=U3=U6=U7=65V, the liquid-liquid interface is an outwardly inclined plane to realize the constriction of parallel beams; when U1=U4=U5=U8=10V, U2= When U3=U6=U7=36V, the interface is a biconvex spherical surface to realize the convergence of parallel beams, as well as the collimation, convergence and divergence of non-parallel beams; when U1=U4=U5=U8=65V, U2=U3 When =U6=U7=36V, the interface is a double concave spherical surface to realize the divergence of parallel beams, as well as the collimation, convergence and divergence of non-parallel beams. 4. The beam adjuster based on a dielectric-wetting liquid prism array according to claim 1, wherein the working performance of the beam adjuster depends on the deflection ability of the liquid prism unit to incident light, and the deflection of the liquid prism unit The capability depends on the refractive indices of the conducting liquid (7) and the insulating liquid (8), and the saturated contact angle of the interface. 5. The beam adjuster based on a dielectric wetting liquid prism array according to claim 1, characterized in that: the liquid-liquid interface adopts three-liquid double-interface, that is, an insulating liquid (8) is used in the middle, and two liquid-liquid interfaces are adopted. The liquid prism unit with conductive liquid (7) on the side replaces the double liquid prism unit of the upper and lower layers. 6 . The beam adjuster based on a dielectric wetting liquid prism array according to claim 1 , wherein the number of liquid prism units in the beam adjuster is not limited to four, and the number is a multiple of four. 7 . That's it.

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