Nanovoided tunable optics

An optical element comprising:

• a primary electrode;
• a secondary electrode overlapping at least a portion of the primary electrode;
• a nanovoided polymer layer disposed between and abutting the primary electrode and the secondary electrode;
• and
• a dielectric layer adjacent to the nanovoided polymer layer,
• wherein:
• the nanovoided polymer layer has a first refractive index when a first voltage is applied between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode;
• and
• the nanovoided polymer layer has a second refractive index different from the first refractive index when a second voltage different from the first voltage is applied between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode.

A method comprising:

• forming a structured nanovoided polymer layer having a first refractive index over a primary electrode;
• forming a secondary electrode over the structured nanovoided polymer layer;
• forming a dielectric layer over the secondary electrode, wherein the structured nanovoided polymer layer has the first refractive index when a first voltage is applied between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode, and the structured nanovoided polymer layer has the second refractive index when a second voltage different from the first voltage is applied between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode;
• and
• deforming the structured nanovoided polymer layer in at least one dimension to form a deformed nanovoided polymer layer having a second refractive index different from the first refractive index.