Abstract text

A thermally induced pressure operated optical switch (3) includes a prism (31), and a substrate (32) disposed below the prism. The substrate defines a plurality of switch elements (35). Each switch element includes a first chamber (351), a second chamber (352) containing matching liquid (36) having a reflective index substantially the same as that of the prism, and a thermal pressure generator (37) communicating with the second chamber for causing the matching liquid to flow between the first and second chambers. The switch elements are arranged in an array in like manner to the way pixels of a display device are arranged. Thus, the thermal pressure generators can be selectively turned on and off, in order to control the switch elements to manipulate optical beams for displaying all kinds of images. The optical switch can be employed in a display device, a projector, or like apparatuses.