Opto-mechanical device
AssigneePolight Technologies Ltd.
InventorsStephen Richard Elliott, Mark Edward Welland, Pavel Krecmer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An opto-mechanical device is constituted by an optically responsive actuating member in which a mechanical strain occurs in response to changes in its illumination. The actuating member is preferably at least partly formed from a semiconducting glassy matrix such as a chalcogenide glass. Preferably the opto-mechanical device illuminates the actuating member with light which is preferably plane polarized. Preferably it also varies the polarization angle of the plane polarized light to cause a change in the strain generated in the actuating member.
Claims10
An opto-mechanical device comprising an optically responsive actuating member at least partly formed from a chalcogenide glass consisting of a group VI element alone or in combination with at least one element from the same or a different group of the periodic table, in which a mechanical strain occurs in the optically responsive actuating member in response to changes in its illumination and in which a change in the mechanical strain of the actuating member and hence a corresponding change in its contraction and expansion occurs in response to changes in the state or angle of polarisation of the illuminating light.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.