Nanostructured acousto-optic device, and optical scanner, optical modulator, and holographic display apparatus using the nanostructured acousto-optic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10503046-B2
Application number	US-201615259116-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 8, 2016
Priority date	Jan 28, 2011
Publication date	Dec 10, 2019
Grant date	Dec 10, 2019

Abstract

An acousto-optic device capable of increasing a range of a diffraction angle of output light by using a nanostructured acousto-optic medium, and an optical scanner, an optical modulator, a two-dimensional/three-dimensional (2D/3D) conversion stereoscopic image display apparatus, and a holographic display apparatus using the acousto-optic device. The acousto-optic device may include a nanostructured acousto-optic medium formed by at least two different mediums repeatedly alternating with each other, wherein at least one of the at least two different mediums includes an acousto-optic medium. The acousto-optic device having the aforementioned structure may increase the range of a diffraction angle of output light. Thus, various systems such as the optical scanner, the optical modulator, the 2D/3D conversion stereoscopic image display apparatus, and the holographic display apparatus may not require a separate optical system to increase an operational angle range, thereby decreasing a size of the system and/or improving a resolution of the system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An acousto-optic device comprising:
a first medium and a second medium repeatedly alternating with each other in a first direction; and
a sonic wave generator configured to apply sonic waves to the first medium and the second medium,
wherein a period in which a thickness of the first medium and a thickness of the second medium alternate with each other is smaller than a half of a wavelength of visible light to be controlled by the acousto-optic device,
wherein the acousto-optic device is configured to diffract light, the light being transmitted through sides of the acousto-optic device in a second direction transverse to the first direction in which the first medium and the second medium are alternately disposed, and
wherein the sides through which the light is transmitted are perpendicular to a side on which the sonic wave generator is disposed.

2. The acousto-optic device of claim 1 , wherein the first direction is a propagation direction of the sonic waves applied by the sonic wave generator.

3. The acousto-optic device of claim 2 , wherein:
the sonic wave generator is disposed on either one of:
a surface of the first medium, wherein the first medium precedes the second medium in the propagation direction of the sonic waves, and
a surface of the second medium, wherein the second medium precedes the first medium in the propagation direction of the sonic waves; and

the surface on which the sonic wave generator is disposed is perpendicular to the propagation direction of the sonic waves.

4. The acousto-optic device of claim 1 , wherein the first medium is GaN, or Al1-xGaxN, or In1-xGaxN, ZnO, or an organic crystal and the second medium is Al, or Ag, or Au, or Cu, or Na, or ITO, or AZO, or GZO, or graphene, or an alloy of Al, or Ag, or Au, or Cu, or Na.

5. The acousto-optic device of claim 1 , wherein the first medium and the second medium repeatedly alternate with each other in a direction that is perpendicular to a propagation direction of the sonic waves applied by the sonic wave generator.

6. The acousto-optic device of claim 5 , wherein:
the sonic wave generator is disposed on a surface formed by alternating surfaces of the first medium and the second medium; and
the surface on or over which the sonic wave generator is disposed is perpendicular to the propagation direction of the sonic waves.

7. The acousto-optic device of claim 1 , wherein the first medium has an acousto-optic coefficient larger than an acousto-optic coefficient of the second medium.

8. The acousto-optic device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one additional medium repeatedly alternating with the first medium and the second medium and having a dielectric constant different from dielectric constants of the first medium and the second medium.

9. The acousto-optic device of claim 1 , wherein the acousto-optic device is configured to diffract light incident on a light incident surface thereof, a travel direction of the incident light is transverse to a propagation direction of the sonic waves, and the diffracted light is output from a light exit surface of the acousto-optic device that is opposite to the light incident surface.

10. The acousto-optic device of claim 1 , wherein the first medium has a dielectric constant with a real part having a first sign at the wavelength of the light to be controlled by the acousto-optic device; and
the second medium has a dielectric constant with a real part having a second sign opposite to the first sign at the wavelength of the light to be controlled by the acousto-optic device.

11. The acousto-optic device of claim 1 , wherein the acousto-optic device has a refractive index anisotropy such that a diffraction angle range of the light diffracted by phase gratings formed in the first and second medium is greater than a diffraction angle range of light diffracted by phase gratings formed in only the first medium and is also greater than a diffraction angle range of light diffracted by phase gratings formed in only the second medium.

12. An optical scanner comprising:
an optical waveguide;
an optical coupling device configured to make light incident on the optical waveguide;
a first acousto-optic device comprising the acousto-optic device of claim 1 disposed in the optical waveguide and configured to deflect the light incident on the optical waveguide in a first direction; and
a second acousto-optic device comprising the acousto-optic device of claim 1 disposed in the optical waveguide and configured to deflect the light deflected by the first acousto-optic device in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction.

13. A two-dimensional/three-dimensional (2D/3D) conversion stereoscopic image display apparatus comprising:
a display panel; and
an acousto-optic device array disposed on an entire display surface of the display panel to deflect an image to be displayed on the display panel;
wherein the acousto-optic device array comprises a plurality of acousto-optic devices of claim 1 .

14. A holographic display apparatus comprising:
a light source to emit light;
an acousto-optic device array to deflect the light emitted from the light source, the acousto-optic device array comprising a plurality of acousto-optic devices of claim 1 ; and
a projection optical system to project the light deflected by the acousto-optic device array.

15. The acousto-optic device of claim 1 , wherein the first direction is a longitudinal direction, with the light being transmitted through lateral sides of the acousto-optic device.

16. An acousto-optic device comprising:
a first medium and a second medium repeatedly alternating with each other in a first direction to form a stacked structure, either one or both of the first medium and the second medium being formed of an acousto-optic medium; and
a sonic wave generator configured to apply sonic waves to the stacked structure to form a phase grating in the stacked structure, the phase grating diffracting light incident on the stacked structure,
wherein a period in which a thickness of the first medium and a thickness of the second medium alternate with each other is smaller than a half of a wavelength of visible light to be controlled by the acousto-optic device,
wherein the acousto-optic device is configured to diffract light, the light being transmitted through sides of the acousto-optic device in a second direction transverse to the first direction in which the first medium and the second medium are alternately disposed, and
wherein the sides through which the light is transmitted are perpendicular to a side on which the sonic wave generator is disposed.

17. The acousto-optic device of claim 16 , wherein a diffraction angle of the light diffracted by the phase grating formed in the stacked structure is greater than a diffraction angle of light diffracted by a phase grating formed in only the first medium having a same period as the phase grating formed in the stacked structure, and is also greater than a diffraction angle of light diffracted by a phase grating formed in only the second medium having the same period as the phase grating formed in the stacked structure.

18. The acousto-optic device of claim 16 , wherein the first medium has an acousto-optic coefficient larger than an acousto-optic coefficient of the second medium.

19. The acousto-optic device of claim 16 , wherein:
the sonic generator is disposed on or over a first surface of the stacked structure that is parallel to a direction in which the first medium and th

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Han Seung-Hoon
• Yoo In-Kyeong
• Lee Sang-Yoon
• Lee Hong-Seok
• Han Moon Gyu
• Kim Sun-Kook

Classifications

• G02B30/00

  Optical systems or apparatus for producing three-dimensional [3D] effects, e.g. stereoscopic images (in microscopes G02B21/22) · CPC title

• G02F1/335 Primary

  having an optical waveguide structure · CPC title

• G02F1/11 Primary

  based on acousto-optical elements, e.g. using variable diffraction by sound or like mechanical waves (acousto-optical deflection G02F1/33) · CPC title

• G02F1/292

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

• H04N1/04

  Scanning arrangements {, i.e. arrangements for the displacement of active reading or reproducing elements relative to the original or reproducing medium, or vice versa}(H04N1/387 takes precedence) · CPC title