Communications of the ACM
Researchers Develop Optical Displays From Water and Air
Aalto University researchers have developed a concept of writing and displaying information on surfaces using just water.
Credit: Aalto University
Aalto University researchers have developed a concept of writing and displaying information on surfaces using just water.
The researchers take advantage of the unique way a trapped layer of air behaves on a lotus-inspired dual-structured water-repelling surface immersed under water.
The researchers, led by Aalto's Robin Ras, developed a surface with microposts 10 micrometers high and tiny nanofilaments that are grown on the posts. On such a two-level surface the air layer can exist in two different shapes that correspond to the two size scales.
The researchers found that it is possible to switch between the two states locally using a nozzle to create over- or underpressure in the water, which changes the air layer to either state. "The minimal energy needed to switch between the states means the system is bistable, which is the essential property of memory devices, for example," Ras says.
In addition, there is an optical contrast between the states due to a change in the roughness of the water-air interface. "This result represents the first step in making non-wettable surfaces a platform for storing or even processing information," says Aalto professor Olli Ikkala.
From Aalto University
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2012 Information Inc. 
, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
No entries found