Powerful polymeric thermal microactuator with embedded silicon microstructure

A powerful and effective design of a polymeric thermal microactuator is presented. The design has SU-8 epoxy layers filled and bonded in a meandering silicon (Si) microstructure. The silicon microstructure reinforces the SU-8 layers by lateral restraint. It also improves the transverse thermal expansion coefficient and heat transfer for the...

Tuning of a cavity in a silicon photonic crystal by thermal expansion of an elastomeric infill

We use an elastomer as infill material for a photonic crystal. As a result of the thermal-expansion-induced strongly negative thermal optical coefficient, this material is highly suitable for thermal tuning of the transmission of a cavity. This is demonstrated by global infilling of a hole-type silicon photonic crystal slab and global thermal...