Environmentally responsive optical microstructured hybrid actuator assemblies and applications thereof
Microstructured hybrid actuator assemblies in which microactuators carrying designed surface properties to be revealed upon actuation are embedded in a layer of responsive materials. The microactuators in a microactuator array reversibly change their configuration in response to a change in the environment without requiring an external power source to switch their optical properties.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a substrate with a surface;
an environmentally responsive hydrogel polymer layer disposed on a region of the surface; and
a plurality of microactuators embedded in the environmentally responsive hydrogel polymer layer, wherein the plurality of microactuators are a plurality of plates;
wherein the microactuators are configured to move from a first position to a second position in response to a volume change of the environmentally responsive hydrogel polymer layer from a first volume to a second volume and wherein the movement of microactuators alters optical properties of the apparatus.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the microactuators are configured to reversibly move from a first position to a second position.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the microactuators are configured to tilt with respect to a normal of the surface in response to the change in volume.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of microactuators comprise a coating that affects their optical properties.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of plates comprise a photonic crystal, a plasmonic material, a multilayer reflector, a luminescent material, or a diffraction grating that affects their optical properties.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plates comprise a rare earth element or compound, plasmonic material, a fluorescent dye, a pigment or a bioluminescent material that affects their optical properties.
7. A method for manufacturing an apparatus, the method comprising:
(a) providing a substrate with a surface;
(b) embedding a plurality of microactuators in an environmentally responsive hydrogel polymer layer disposed on a region of the surface, wherein the plurality of microactuators are a plurality of plates,
wherein the microactuators are configured to move from a first position to a second position in response to a change in volume of the environmentally responsive hydrogel polymer layer from a first volume to a second volume and wherein the movement of microactuators alters optical properties of the apparatus.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the apparatus is the apparatus of claim 1 .
9. An apparatus comprising:
a substrate with a surface; and
a plurality of microactuators comprising an environmentally responsive hydrogel polymer layer disposed on a region of the surface, wherein the plurality of microactuators are a plurality of plates;
wherein the microactuators are configured to move from a first position to a second position in response to a volume change of the environmentally responsive hydrogel polymer layer from a first volume to a second volume and wherein the movement of microactuators alters optical properties of the apparatus.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the microactuators are configured to reversibly move from a first position to a second position.
11. The apparatus claim 9 , wherein the microactuators are configured to tilt with respect to a normal of the surface in response to the change in volume.