POLYMER MEMBRANE-PROPERTIES AND STRUCTURES FOR MEMBRANE LIGHT-MODULATOR APPLICATIONS

A judicious selection of polymer materials for the fabrication of a deformable-membrane light modulator (e.g., the photoemitter membrane light modulator) will enhance its speed. A polymer with a low surface energy decreases the device response time by lowering the membrane tension that is caused by the surface interaction between the membrane and an adjacent dielectric surface. The material must also have high temperature stability. A composite structure of parylene on poly[bis(trifluoroethoxy)phosphazene] on SiOx is found to meet these requirements, with stability to 220°C and a tension of 0.18 N/m, giving a potential frame rate of close to 10 kHz or a throughput of >1010 pixels/sec. © 1990 Optical Society of America.