Shape-tunable wrinkles for a switchable optical diffuser

Recently, spontaneously formed microwrinkles on hard coating-capped elastomer surfaces have attracted the attention of both the scientific and applied research communities, because of their simple fabrication process and potential for diverse practical applications. The depth and averaged orientation of the microwrinkle grooves can be controlled by applying strain. Here, we study the diffusion of light passed through a surface with wrinkles in the range of hundreds of microns. Without strain, the sample shows no wrinkles and is a transparent plate. With strain, the surface shows wrinkles and diffuses the light beam depending on the magnitude of applied strain. Thus, the present system can be used as a switchable optical diffuser.