Olivier Castany and Laurent Dupont have published in Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering

Summary : We developed a microtechnology process which enables the fabrication of microscopic individual liquid crystal cells. With a dimension close to 500 µm, they are the smallest independent cells manufactured to this day and can be placed on several kinds of substrates. One of our goals is to use these micro-cells for the fabrication of tunable laser chips. The liquid crystal cell is deposited directly on the laser chip and will make it possible to tune the wavelength of the light emitted by the laser. This kind of component is useful in a number of areas: optical telecommunications (WDM access network), gas analysis (pollution monitoring), optical fiber sensor measurement (control of strain in civil engineering works).

Article published in Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (ISSN 0960-1317), leading journal in its field, covering all aspects of microelectromechanichal systems, devices and structures as well as micromechanics, microengineering and microfabrication. The journal publishes key research from around the world and is essential reading for all MEMS researchers.

Keywords : Microtechnology, Liquid crystals, Microfabrication, Lasers.

Reference: Castany Olivier, Laurent Dupont. Liquid crystal micro-cells : collective fabrication of individual micro-cells . Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. 2010. Vol. 20, n°6, 065019.

Contact : Olivier Castany (Tél. : 02 29 00 10 56 – olivier.castany@telecom-bretagne.eu).