Reduced voltage artificial eyelid for protection of optical sensors

The fabrication, testing and performance of a new device for the protection of optical sensors will be described. The device consists of a transparent substrate, a transparent conducting electrode, insulating polymers, and a reflective top electrode layer. Using standard fabrication techniques, arrays of apertures can be created with sizes ranging from micrometers to millimeters. A stress gradient resulting from different coefficients of thermal expansion between the top polymer layer and the reflective metal electrode, rolls back the composite thin film structure from the aperture area following the chemical removal of a release layer, thus forming the open condition. The application of a voltage between the transparent conducting and reflective metal electrodes creates an electrostatic force that unrolls the curled film, closing the artificial eyelid. Fabricated devices have been completed on glass substrates with indium tin oxide electrodes. The curled films have diameters of less than 100mum with the arrays having fill factor transparencies of over 70%. Greater transparencies are possible with optimized designs. The electrical and optical results from the testing of the artificial eyelid will be discussed.