Photonic AC-DC equivalence converter and performing AC-DC equivalence conversion

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12066741-B2
Application number	US-202117486852-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 27, 2021
Priority date	Sep 25, 2020
Publication date	Aug 20, 2024
Grant date	Aug 20, 2024

Abstract

A photonic AC-DC voltage and current equivalence converter includes: a photonic chip; a weak thermal link; an isothermal region; a resistive electrode; an isothermal region photonic nanoresonator; an isothermal region waveguide; a chip photonic nanoresonator; and a chip waveguide, such that an ac voltage is determined from matching a temperature rise of the isothermal region due to a primary elevated temperature of the isothermal region when ac voltage is received by the resistive electrode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter for performing ac-dc voltage and current equivalence conversion, the photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter comprising:
a photonic chip;
a weak thermal link disposed on and in mechanical communication with the photonic chip;
a isothermal region disposed on the weak thermal link an in mechanical communication with the weak thermal link, the isothermal region comprising: an isothermal substrate, an isothermal membrane, an isothermal obelisk disposed on either isothermal substrate, or on the isothermal membrane;
when isothermal region comprised of isothermal membrane, the weak thermal link mechanically suspends the isothermal region from the photonic chip;
the weak thermal link comprised of the following elements interposed between the isothermal region and the photonic chip: isolation trenches, an isolation membrane, isolation tether;
an weak thermal link interposed between the isothermal region and the photonic chip, such that the isothermal region is thermally isolated from the photonic chip;
a resistive electrode disposed on the isothermal region and in thermal communication with the isothermal region and that receives dc voltage, resistively heats to a primary elevated temperature in response to the dc voltage, receives ac voltage non-contemporaneously with the dc voltage, resistively heats to a test elevated temperature in response to the ac voltage, and heats the isothermal region via heat transfer from the resistive electrode to the isothermal region based on the primary elevated temperature and the test elevated temperature of the high resistivity electrode;
an isothermal region photonic nanoresonator disposed on the isothermal region and comprising a first photonic resonance from which a temperature of the isothermal region is determinable and that varies with temperature of the isothermal region and that receives an isothermal region temperature probe light from an isothermal region waveguide;
the isothermal region waveguide disposed on the isothermal region in optical communication with the isothermal region photonic nanoresonator and that communicates the isothermal region temperature probe light to the isothermal region photonic nanoresonator and that monitors transmission and storage of the isothermal region temperature probe light by the isothermal region photonic nanoresonator to determine the temperature of the isothermal region;
a chip photonic nanoresonator disposed on the photonic chip and in thermal communication with the photonic chip and comprising a second photonic resonance from which a temperature of the photonic chip is determinable and that varies with temperature of the photonic chip and that receives a chip temperature probe light from a chip waveguide; and
the chip waveguide disposed on the photonic chip in optical communication with the chip photonic nanoresonator and that communicates the chip temperature probe light to the chip photonic nanoresonator and that monitors transmission and storage of the chip temperature probe light by the chip photonic nanoresonator to determine the temperature of the isothermal region, such that the ac voltage is determined from matching a temperature rise of the isothermal region due to the primary elevated temperature of the isothermal region when the ac voltage is received by the resistive electrode.

2. The photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 1 , further comprising an encapsulation medium disposed on the isothermal region, the isothermal region photonic nanoresonator, and the chip photonic nanoresonator to shield the isothermal region photonic nanoresonator and the chip photonic nanoresonator from perturbation by an environmental effect comprising humidity or moisture.

3. The photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 1 , wherein the photonic chip, the isothermal region, and the weak thermal link independently comprise a semiconductive material.

4. The photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 1 , wherein the isothermal region photonic nanoresonator and the chip photonic nanoresonator independently comprise a photonic crystal cavity or a whispering gallery mode micro-resonator.

5. The photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 1 , further comprising a primary photonic quantum temperature standard disposed on the photonic chip.

6. The photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 5 , wherein the primary photonic quantum temperature standard comprises a suspended nanobeam photonic crystal cavity or a fin-based optomechanical device, such that and averaged mean square amplitude of the thermally driven mechanical oscillations of the primary photonic quantum temperature standard is directly related to thermodynamic temperature.

7. The photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 5 , wherein the primary photonic quantum temperature standard comprises a semiconductive material.

8. The photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 1 , wherein the isothermal region photonic nanoresonator and the chip photonic nanoresonator independently comprise a photonic crystal cavity, a whispering gallery mode micro-resonator, primary photonic temperature standard.

9. The photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 1 , wherein the isothermal region photonic nanoresonator and the chip photonic nanoresonator independently comprise a semiconductive material.

10. The photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 1 , wherein the resistive electrode comprises a metal alloy.

11. The photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 1 , wherein the metal alloy comprises nickel, chromium, aluminum, and copper.

12. A process for performing ac-dc voltage and current equivalence conversion with the photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter of claim 1 , the process comprising:
applying a dc voltage across the resistive electrode;
determining the temperature difference between the temperature of isothermal region (resistive electrode) and the temperature of photonic chip;
determining the dc Joule heating of the resistive electrode relative to chip temperature by measuring the temperature difference between the temperature of isothermal region (resistive electrode) and the temperature of photonic chip;
applying a varied ac voltage across the high resistivity electrode;
applying the varied ac voltage across the high resistivity electrode and determining the ac Joule heating from measured temperature difference between the temperature of isothermal region (resistive electrode) and the temperature of photonic chip; and
matching the ac Joule heating to the dc Joule heating to perform ac-dc voltage equivalence conversion.

13. A photonic ac-dc voltage and current equivalence converter for performing ac-dc voltage equivalence conversion, the photonic ac-dc voltage equivalence converter comprising:
a photonic chip;
a weak thermal link disposed on and in mechanical communication with the photonic chip;
an isothermal region disposed on the weak thermal link an in mechanical communication with the weak thermal link;
an isothermal region can be comprised of the combination of the following elements: an isothermal substrate, an isothermal membrane, an isothermal obelisk disposed on either isothermal substrate, or on the isothermal membrane;
when isothermal region comprised of isothermal membrane, the weak thermal link mechanically suspends the isothermal region from the photonic chip;
the weak therm

Assignees

• Government Of The Us Secretary Of Commerce

Inventors

• Klimov Nikolai Nikolaevich
• Hagmann Joseph Arthur Schneemeyer
• Cular Stefan
• Lipe Jr Thomas Eller

Classifications

• H02M11/00

  Power conversion systems not covered by the preceding groups · CPC title

• G02F7/00 Primary

  Optical analogue/digital converters · CPC title