Electromagnetic waveguide transmission modulation device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10288977-B2
Application number	US-201715611971-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 2, 2017
Priority date	Jan 10, 2014
Publication date	May 14, 2019
Grant date	May 14, 2019

Abstract

A plasmonic switching device and method of providing a plasmonic switching device. An example device includes a resonant cavity and an electromagnetic radiation feed arranged to couple electromagnetic radiation into the resonant cavity and at least one plasmonic mode. The resonant cavity is arranged to be switchable between: a first state in which the resonant cavity has an operational characteristic selected to allow resonance of the electromagnetic radiation at a frequency of the at least one plasmonic mode; and a second state in which the operational characteristic of the resonant cavity is adjusted to inhibit resonance of the electromagnetic radiation at a frequency of the at least one plasmonic mode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electromagnetic waveguide transmission modulation device comprising:
at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element coupleable to a waveguide,
wherein said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is configured to control an excitation of surface waves along said waveguide by being arranged to be adjustable between:
a first mode in which said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is configured to support a resonant mode matched to a propagation vector of a waveguide transmission mode supported by said waveguide such that propagation of said waveguide transmission mode along said waveguide is affected; and
a second mode in which said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is configured to inhibit support of said resonant mode matched to said propagation vector of said waveguide transmission mode, such that interruption of propagation of said waveguide transmission mode along said waveguide is prevented.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is arranged to be adjustable between said first mode and said second mode by means of modification of optical properties of said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element.

3. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising an adjuster, wherein said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is arranged to be adjustable between said first mode and said second mode by electro-optical, magneto-optical, acousto-optical or nonlinear optical interaction by said adjuster.

4. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is coupled to said waveguide in a manner which enables dynamic control over transmission, reflection and/or absorption properties of said waveguide.

5. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is integrally formed with said waveguide.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is formed adjacent said waveguide.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is formed in-line with said waveguide.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element comprises:
a structure comprising a support and a plurality of nanostructure elements comprising a metallic material,
wherein said plurality of nanostructure elements are configured on said support to allow said structure to act as a hyperbolic metamaterial, wherein said nanostructure elements are configured to cause a change in permittivity of said hyperbolic metamaterial on application of an external trigger to adjust said device between said first mode and said second mode.

9. The device according to claim 8 , wherein said hyperbolic metamaterial comprises an electromagnetic metamaterial.

10. The device according to claim 8 , wherein said hyperbolic metamaterial comprises an optical metamaterial.

11. The device according to claim 8 , wherein adjacent nanostructure elements are configured on said support such that they are electromagnetically coupled.

12. The device according to claim 8 , wherein the plurality of nanostructure elements are configured such that the electromagnetic field of one nanostructure element spatially overlaps that of adjacent nanostructure elements.

13. The device according to claim 12 , wherein said plurality of nanostructure elements are configured as an array on said support.

14. The device according to claim 13 , wherein said array comprises a substantially regular array.

15. The device according to claim 14 , wherein said plurality of nanostructure elements comprise a plurality of metallic nanorods.

16. The device according to claim 15 , wherein said plurality of nanostructure elements are embedded within a dielectric matrix.

17. The device according claim 1 , wherein the at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element comprises a plurality of hyperbolic metamaterial elements.

18. A method of providing an electromagnetic waveguide transmission modulation device comprising:
coupling at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element to a waveguide;
configuring said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element to control an excitation of surface waves along said waveguide by arranging said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element to be adjustable between:
a first mode in which said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is configured to support a resonant mode matched to a propagation vector of a waveguide transmission mode supported by said waveguide such that propagation of said waveguide transmission mode along said waveguide is affected; and
a second mode in which said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element is configured to inhibit support of said resonant mode matched to said propagation vector of said waveguide transmission mode, such that interruption of propagation of said waveguide transmission mode along said waveguide is prevented.

19. The method of claim 18 :
wherein arranging said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element to be adjustable to be adjustable between said first mode and said second mode comprises arranging said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element by means of modification of optical properties of said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element; and
further comprising modifying said optical properties of said at least one hyperbolic metamaterial element to adjust between said first mode and said second mode.

20. An electromagnetic waveguide transmission modulation device comprising:
a pair of metamaterial elements arranged in-line within a waveguide,
wherein said pair of metamaterial elements are configured to control an excitation of surface waves along said waveguide by being arranged to be adjustable between:
a first state in which said pair of metamaterial elements operate as ENZ metamaterial elements and form a resonant cavity within said waveguide having a transmission function which allows electromagnetic radiation of a selected frequency propagating along said waveguide to pass through said resonant cavity substantially unimpeded; and
a second state in which operation of at least one of said pair of metamaterial elements as an ENZ metamaterial is prevented and the transmission function of the waveguide is modulated.

Assignees

• King S College London

Inventors

• Wurtz Gregory
• Zayats Anatoly
• Mcpolin Cillian
• Barbosa Neira Andres David
• Ginzburg Pavel

Classifications

• G02F1/21

  by interference · CPC title

• G02F2202/30

  Metamaterials · CPC title

• G02F2203/10

  plasmon · CPC title

• G02B26/001

  based on interference in an adjustable optical cavity (interference filters G02B5/28; devices or arrangements using multiple reflections in spectrometry or monochromators G01J3/26) · CPC title

• G02F2203/15

  involving resonance effects, e.g. resonantly enhanced interaction · CPC title