Apparatus for plasmonic nanoantenna optical beam phase-shifter and steerer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12044912-B2
Application number	US-202017101114-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 23, 2020
Priority date	Nov 25, 2019
Publication date	Jul 23, 2024
Grant date	Jul 23, 2024

Abstract

A pixel for creating an optical phase change includes a transparent electrical insulator, a first electrical conductor disposed on the transparent electrical insulator, the first electrical conductor comprising an antenna component and a connector component, an electrical insulator disposed on the first electrical conductor, a transparent semiconductor disposed on the electrical insulator, and a second electrical conductor disposed on the transparent semiconductor. The transparent semiconductor is sufficiently thick to prevent plasmonic resonance from occurring at an interface between the transparent semiconductor and the second electrical conductor.

First claim

We claim:

1. A pixel comprising:
a transparent electrical insulator;
a first electrical conductor disposed on the transparent electrical insulator, the first electrical conductor comprising an antenna component and a connector component;
an electrical insulator disposed on the first electrical conductor;
a transparent semiconductor disposed on the electrical insulator; and
a second electrical conductor disposed on the transparent semiconductor, the second electrical conductor defining a ground plane;
wherein the transparent semiconductor is sufficiently thick to prevent plasmonic resonance from occurring at an interface between the transparent semiconductor and the second electrical conductor; and
wherein the electrical insulator is sufficiently thin to allow a change in electrical fields from the antenna component to cause a change in carrier density profile in the transparent semiconductor.

2. The pixel of claim 1 wherein the transparent semiconductor is sufficiently thick to prevent joint plasmonic resonance from occurring between two sets of interfaces:
a first set of interfaces between the first electrical conductor, the electrical insulator and the transparent semiconductor; and
a second set of interfaces between the transparent semiconductor and the second electrical conductor.

3. The pixel of claim 1 wherein the first electrical conductor, the electrical insulator and the transparent semiconductor support a plasmonic resonance upon excitation by an incident optical beam.

4. The pixel of claim 1 wherein the first electrical conductor is at least partially embedded in the electrical insulator.

5. The pixel of claim 1 wherein the electrical insulator is a first electrical insulator, the pixel further comprising a second electrical insulator between the transparent semiconductor and the second electrical conductor.

6. The pixel of claim 1 wherein the antenna component does not extend to the edge of the pixel and the connector component intersects the antenna component and extends to an edge of the pixel to allow a connection external to the pixel.

7. The pixel of claim 1 wherein the antenna component comprises two lines separated by a gap and in total shorter than the length of the pixel, and short enough not to overlap any part of the neighbouring intersection, each of the two lines intersected by corresponding connector components that extend to the edge of the pixel to allow connections external to the pixel.

8. The pixel of claim 1 wherein the antenna component serves as an antenna for optical radiation, as well as a variable source of constant electrical potential.

9. The pixel of claim 1 wherein the antenna component, the electrical insulator, and the transparent semiconductor, sustain a plasmonic or electrical resonance when a beam of optical radiation is incident upon the structure.

10. The pixel of claim 9 wherein the resonance frequency of the plasmonic resonance can be altered by applying an electrical potential between the antenna component and the second electric conductor.

11. The pixel of claim 1 wherein a phase of an incident beam of optical radiation is shifted as it is transmitted or reflected at the resonance layers, the shift being affected by an electrical potential applied between the antenna component and the second electric conductor.

12. The pixel of claim 7 having a first resonance induced by an electrical-optical interaction primarily in the gap between the two lines of the antenna, and having a second resonance induced by an electrical-optical interaction between the connector components.

13. The pixel of claim 12 wherein the first and second resonances are at different wavelengths, and the magnitude of reflectance or transmittance of a beam of optical radiation having a wavelength between the first and second resonances is not significantly affected by an electrical potential applied between the antenna component and the second electric conductor.

14. The pixel of claim 1 wherein the second electrical conductor is sufficiently thin to be transparent to a range of optical wavelengths.

15. A pixel array comprising:
a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of rows, each of the plurality of pixels in each of the plurality of rows connected in series;
each of the plurality of pixels comprising:
a transparent electrical insulator;
a first electrical conductor disposed on the transparent electrical insulator, the first electrical conductor comprising an antenna component and a connector component;
an electrical insulator disposed on the first electrical conductor;
a transparent semiconductor disposed on the electrical insulator; and
a second electrical conductor disposed on the transparent semiconductor, the second electrical conductor defining a ground plane;
wherein the transparent semiconductor is sufficiently thick to prevent plasmonic resonance from occurring at an interface between the transparent semiconductor and the second electrical conductor; and
wherein the electrical insulator is sufficiently thin to allow a change in electrical fields from the antenna component to cause a change in carrier density profile in the transparent semiconductor.

16. The pixel array of claim 15 wherein each of the plurality of rows is independent of each other, each of the plurality of rows capable of having a different potential applied to allow the application of potential patterns to steer a beam of optical radiation incident on the array without significantly altering its amplitude profile.

17. The pixel array of claim 15 wherein dimensions of the pixels are selected to prevent significant diffraction or side lobes from an interacting beam of optical radiation.

Assignees

• Cala Lesina Antonino
• Berini Pierre Simon Joseph
• Ramunno Lora
• Goodwill Dominic John
• Bernier Eric
• Huawei Tech Canada Co Ltd
• Univ Ottawa

Inventors

• CALA' LESINA Antonino
• Berini Pierre Simon Joseph
• Ramunno Lora
• Goodwill Dominic John
• Bernier Eric

Classifications

• G02B27/0087

  Phased arrays · CPC title

• G02B6/1226

  involving surface plasmon interaction · CPC title

• G02B5/008

  Surface plasmon devices (diffractive gratings with a pitch less than or comparable to the wavelength G02B5/1809; surface plasmons in integrated optics G02B6/1226; optical analysis of materials by means of surface plasmons G01N21/553) · CPC title

• G01S2013/0254

  Active array antenna · CPC title

• G01S2013/0245

  Radar with phased array antenna · CPC title