Optical modulating device and system employing same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10444355-B2
Application number	US-201815866998-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 10, 2018
Priority date	Jan 10, 2017
Publication date	Oct 15, 2019
Grant date	Oct 15, 2019

Abstract

Provided are an optical modulating device and a system employing the same. The optical modulating device includes a phase modulator including a meta surface including a nanoantenna configured to couple light incident on the phase modulator, and including a quantum well layer having a multi-quantum well and configured to modulate a phase of light by modulating a refractive index according to an electrical control, and a reflective layer provided at on the phase modulator opposite to a side of the meta surface of the phase modulator and configured to resonate light coupled through the nanoantenna.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optical modulating device comprising:
a phase modulator comprising:
a meta surface comprising a dielectric nanoantenna configured to couple light incident on the phase modulator, and
a quantum well layer comprising a multi-quantum well configured to modulate a phase of the light incident by modulating a refractive index of the quantum well layer by an electrical control; and

a reflective layer provided on the phase modulator opposite to a side of the meta surface of the phase modulator and configured to resonate the light coupled by the nanoantenna,
wherein the phase modulator further comprises a lower electrode and an upper electrode respectively provided on a lower part and an upper part, opposite to the lower part, of the quantum well layer, and configured to modulate a refractive index of the quantum well layer by electrically controlling the quantum well layer.

2. The optical modulating device of claim 1 ,
wherein the dielectric nanoantenna is formed by patterning a dielectric layer in a nanostructure to form the meta surface comprising the nanoantenna.

3. The optical modulating device of claim 1 , wherein the phase modulator is provided on the reflective layer, the lower electrode is provided on the reflective layer, the quantum well layer is provided on the lower electrode, the upper electrode is provided on the quantum well layer, and a plurality of dielectric nanoantennas are provided on the upper electrode.

4. The optical modulating device of claim 3 , wherein a plurality of quantum well layer regions comprising the quantum well layer are provided on the lower electrode and spaced apart from each other,
the upper electrode is provided on each quantum well layer region, and
the plurality of dielectric nanoantennas are arranged on each upper electrode formed on each quantum well layer region,
wherein the phase modulator comprises an array of a plurality of phase modulators, and is configured to independently control each of the plurality of phase modulators.

5. The optical modulating device of claim 4 , wherein the lower electrode is a common electrode.

6. The optical modulating device of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of phase modulators are arranged two-dimensionally to form a two-dimensional optical modulating device.

7. The optical modulating device of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of phase modulators are arranged one-dimensionally to form a one-dimensional optical modulating device.

8. The optical modulating device of claim 1 , wherein the reflective layer comprises a distributed Bragg reflector.

9. The optical modulating device of claim 1 , wherein the quantum well layer is configured to form a multi-quantum well by using a Group III-V semiconductor.

10. A light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) apparatus comprising:
a light source configured to emit light;
the optical modulating device in claim 1 configured to steer light emitted from the light source toward an object; and
a sensor configured to receive light steered by the optical modulating device toward the object and reflected from the object.

11. An optical modulating device comprising:
a phase modulator comprising:
a meta surface comprising a nanoantenna configured to couple light incident on the phase modulator, and
a quantum well layer comprising a multi-quantum well configured to modulate a phase of the light incident by modulating a refractive index of the quantum well layer by an electrical control; and

a reflective layer provided on the phase modulator opposite to a side of the meta surface of the phase modulator and configured to resonate the light coupled by the nanoantenna,
wherein the nanoantenna of the phase modulator is formed by patterning the quantum well layer in a nanostructure,
wherein the quantum well layer comprises a plurality of quantum well layer regions,
wherein each of the plurality of quantum well layer regions forming the nanoantenna is spaced apart from one another, and
wherein the optical modulating device further comprises a lower electrode and an upper electrode on a lower part and an upper part, opposite to the lower part, of each of the plurality of quantum well layer regions, respectively, and is configured to modulate a refractive index by electrically controlling the quantum well layer.

12. The optical modulating device of claim 11 , further comprising a spacer layer between the quantum well layer and the reflective layer.

13. The optical modulating device of claim 12 , wherein the spacer layer is formed of a dielectric material.

14. The optical modulating device of claim 11 , wherein the reflective layer is a common electrode.

15. The optical modulating device of claim 11 , wherein the phase modulator comprises an array of a plurality of phase modulators, each of the plurality of phase modulators comprising each of the plurality of quantum well layer regions, and the lower electrode and the upper electrode corresponding to each of the plurality of quantum well layer regions.

16. The optical modulating device of claim 15 , wherein the phase modulators in the array of the plurality of phase modulators are configured to be independently controlled.

17. The optical modulating device of claim 15 , wherein the array of the plurality of phase modulators is arranged two-dimensionally to form a two-dimensional optical modulating device.

18. The optical modulating device of claim 15 , wherein the array of the plurality of phase modulators is arranged one-dimensionally to form a one-dimensional optical modulating device.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
• California Inst Of Techn

Inventors

• PALA Ragip
• Atwater Harry
• Alam Muhammad
• Lee Duhyun
• Na Byunghoon
• Han Seunghoon

Classifications

• G02F1/21

  by interference · CPC title

• G01S7/4817

  relating to scanning · CPC title

• G02F2202/30

  Metamaterials · CPC title

• G01S17/02 Primary

  Systems using the reflection of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves (G01S17/66 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02F1/292

  by controlled diffraction or phased-array beam steering (controlled diffraction for optical switching G02F1/31) · CPC title