Optical fibers with patterned ZnO/electrode coatings for flexural actuators

S. Trolier-McKinstry, G. R. Fox, A. Kholkin, C. A.P. Muller, N. Setter

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Piezoelectric ZnO coatings were used in this work to develop a flexural actuator for an optical fiber. The basic device geometry was as follows: inner Cr/Au electrodes were evaporated onto a cleaned optical fiber; a thick ZnO coating was then grown by sputtering; finally a set of 2 mm ring top electrodes were deposited through a shadow mask. Flexural actuators were made by photolithographically patterning either the inner or outer Cr/Au drive electrodes so that it was split down the length of the fiber. This enables each half of the fiber to be actuated independently. The result is that the optical fiber is forced to flex. A processing scheme by which 30 μm gaps could be patterned into the electrodes was developed using standard clean room techniques. Such flexural actuators are attractive for scanning near field optical microscopes and in fiber alignment devices.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)189-194
Number of pages6
JournalMaterials Research Society Symposium - Proceedings
Volume459
StatePublished - 1997
EventProceedings of the 1996 MRS Fall Symposium - Boston, MA, USA
Duration: Dec 2 1996Dec 5 1996

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

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