Surface plasmonic resonance modulation by MEMS-elastomer hybrid system

A hybrid system consisting of a driving mechanism in the form of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS), and a tunable surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) from a deformable elastomer with nanostructures is proposed and evaluated in this work. The MEMS isotropically stretches and expands the elastomer film, which in turn moves the integrated SPR nanostructures into controllable positions, resulting in different SPRs. Under various MEMS operating conditions, arbitrary electromagnetic (EM) responses can be modulated from a single SPR design. The system sequentially filtering white light to various outgoing spectra by the proposed tunable SPR is a possible method for EM modulation. Theoretical design, numerical simulation, and analysis were comprehensively conducted to support the proposed system.