Dynamic and Wavelength-Dependent Optical Transmission Control with Uniform Bending and Recovery of Shape Memory Nanopillars

In this paper, the fabrication, characterization, and investigation of the optical properties of high aspect ratio shape memory polymer (SMP) nanopillars are presented. The SMP nanopillars are fabricated using nanoimprint lithography and double-replication techniques, resulting in well-defined structures with a height of 1.3 µm and a diameter of 270 nm that can be uniformly bent across a large area. The optical transmission spectra of both straight and bent SMP nanopillars are studied. Experimental measurements, along with finite-difference time-domain simulations, reveal significant alterations in the transmission spectra due to the presence of the nanopillars. The SMP nanopillars provide a smart optical power splitting effect, enabling wavelength-dependent splitting of incident light by controlling the SMP nanopillar bending angle and direction dynamically with temperature. These findings highlight the potential of SMP nanopillars as versatile components for manipulating light in wavelength-dependent optical devices. © 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Optical Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.