Fundamentals and Application of Large Area Dielectrowetting Optical Shutters

The size of electro-optic devices has greatly increased as high-resolution displays with diagonals now exceed 100". This shows significant maturity in the electronics and materials used to construct large area and inexpensive electro-optical devices. However, there is an unmet need to create large area electro-optic devices which can also exhibit a highly transparent state, with desired transparencies near that of a sheet of glass which is far beyond ~45% transparency of a standard liquid crystal optical shutter and ~60% for suspended particle devices.;This is an important problem because numerous applications such as smart windows and transparent signage are most attractive when high optical transparencies can be achieved, especially with simple and low-cost techniques. The aim of this dissertation is to create the 1st large-area electro-optic shutter technology that can provide >80% transparency, and do so with an ultra-simple and economical structure. Our central hypothesis, is that dielectrowetting of an opaque insulating fluid on interdigitated electrodes can provide robust large-area switching even without need for pixilation. Our rationale for conducting this research as a complete dissertation is that the physics of this new device must be fundamentally understood before the true value of such a device can judged in the context of real world applications. Physical effects explored include optical diffraction, switching speed, and microscale wetting/dewetting. Results also include sophisticated 3D modeling which closely matches experimental results. This dissertation provides a solid research foundation for the continued development of large scale dielectrowetting optical shutters.