Elastomeric optics exploit light transparent, variable translucent, and reflective stretchable polymers to create novel strain-tunable optical elements and flexible multifunctional optical sheets. Optical sheets are thin, large-area polymer light guide structures that can be used to create a wide variety of passive light harvesting and illumination systems. The book introduces the theoretical principles of elastomeric optics and explores how simple and complex mechanically deformable optical devices can be designed and fabricated. The transmission of light through these optical components or waveguides depends on the selected materials, surface interface, geometric design, optical coupling of embedded micro-structures, and degree of device deformation. In addition to providing a technical foundation for building adaptable optics, the book seeks to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers to develop innovative solutions far beyond anything imagined today.

Polymer Optical Fibres: Fibre Types, Materials, Fabrication, Characterization, and Applications explores polymer optical fibers, specifically their materials, fabrication, characterization, measurement techniques, and applications. Optical effects, including light propagation, degrading effects of attenuation, scattering, and dispersion, are explained. Other important parameters like mechanical strength, operating temperatures, and processability are also described. Polymer optical fibers (POF) have a number of advantages over glass fibers, such as low cost, flexibility, low weight, electromagnetic immunity, good bandwidth, simple installation, and mechanical stability. - Provides systematic and comprehensive coverage of materials, fabrication, properties, measurement techniques, and applications of POF - Focuses on industry needs in communication, illumination and sensors, the automotive industry, and medical and biotechnology - Features input from leading experts in POF technology, with experience spanning optoelectronics, polymer, and textiles - Explains optical effects, including light propagation, degrading effects of attenuation, scattering, and dispersion

The first comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art tunable micro-optics, covering advances in materials, components and systems.

This text is a primer for liquid crystals, polymers, rubber and elasticity. It is directed at physicists, chemists, material scientists, engineers and applied mathematicians at the graduate student level and beyond.

A broad variety of techniques described in this book, as applied to a number of tasks in robotics, provide the reader with a feel for the potential of lasers and fiber optics in this area of increasing relevance. The many examples of devices and systems that are included here are of interest to the nonspecialist as well as to the researcher and industrial practitioner.

Dielectric Elastomers as Electromechanical Transducers provides a comprehensive and updated insight into dielectric elastomers; one of the most promising classes of polymer-based smart materials and technologies. This technology can be used in a very broad range of applications, from robotics and automation to the biomedical field. The need for improved transducer performance has resulted in considerable efforts towards the development of devices relying on materials with intrinsic transduction properties. These materials, often termed as "smart or "intelligent, include improved piezoelectrics and magnetostrictive or shape-memory materials. Emerging electromechanical transduction technologies, based on so-called ElectroActive Polymers (EAP), have gained considerable attention. EAP offer the potential for performance exceeding other smart materials, while retaining the cost and versatility inherent to polymer materials. Within the EAP family, "dielectric elastomers, are of particular interest as they show good overall performance, simplicity of structure and robustness. Dielectric elastomer transducers are rapidly emerging as high-performance "pseudo-muscular actuators, useful for different kinds of tasks. Further, in addition to actuation, dielectric elastomers have also been shown to offer unique possibilities for improved generator and sensing devices. Dielectric elastomer transduction is enabling an enormous range of new applications that were precluded to any other EAP or smart-material technology until recently. This book provides a comprehensive and updated insight into dielectric elastomer transduction, covering all its fundamental aspects. The book deals with transduction principles, basic materials properties, design of efficient device architectures, material and device modelling, along with applications. - Concise and comprehensive treatment for practitioners and academics - Guides the reader through the latest developments in electroactive-polymer-based technology - Designed for ease of use with sections on fundamentals, materials, devices, models and applications