Electrically reconfigurable optical apparatus using electric field

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019278150-A1
Application number	US-201916296049-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 7, 2019
Priority date	Mar 9, 2018
Publication date	Sep 12, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

An optical apparatus may comprise: an electrically reconfigurable optical layer comprising at least one phase-change material, wherein an optical property of the phase-change material is reconfigurable by an electric field; an optically transparent top electrode and a bottom electrode, the top and bottom electrodes configured to apply the electric field to the electrically reconfigurable optical layer, wherein the electrically reconfigurable optical layer is disposed between the optically transparent top electrode and the bottom electrode; and a colossal-K dielectric layer disposed between the electrically reconfigurable optical layer and the bottom electrode. The phase-change material of the electrically reconfigurable optical layer may comprise phase-change nickelate or tungsten oxide. The phase-change material of the electrically reconfigurable optical layer may have a perovskite structure. The phase-change nickelate or tungsten oxide may enable to actuate large refractive index changes of more than 1 in infrared wavelength spectrums at high speeds of phase reconfiguration of more than 1 kHz by applying the electric field to the phase-change material.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An electrically-programmable reflector, comprising:
a two dimensional array of electrically reconfigurable optical elements comprising phase-change correlated perovskite nickelate or tungsten oxide, wherein one or more optical properties of the electrically reconfigurable optical elements are reconfigurable by an electric field such that a refractive index of the electrically reconfigurable optical elements comprising the phase-change nickelate or tungsten oxide is changeable at an infrared wavelength.

2 . The electrically-programmable reflector of claim 1 , wherein the electrically reconfigurable optical elements are not mechanically movable with respect to each other.

3 . The electrically-programmable reflector of claim 1 , wherein the refractive index of the electrically reconfigurable optical elements comprising the phase-change correlated perovskite nickelate or tungsten oxide is changeable by more than 0.1.

4 . The electrically-programmable reflector of claim 1 , wherein the refractive index of the electrically reconfigurable optical elements comprising the phase-change correlated perovskite nickelate or tungsten oxide is changeable by more than 1.

5 . The electrically-programmable reflector of claim 1 , wherein the phase-change correlated perovskite nickelate comprises at least one of GdNiO 3 , EuNiO 3 , SmNiO 3 , NdNiO 3 and PrNiO 3 .

6 . The electrically-programmable reflector of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-programmable reflector is configured to actuate a refractive index change of the electrically reconfigurable optical elements of more than 0.1 with the electric field applied.

7 . The electrically-programmable reflective lens or focusing mirror of claim 1 , further comprising a colossal-K dielectric layer disposed proximate to the electrically reconfigurable optical elements.

8 . The electrically-programmable reflective lens or focusing mirror of claim 7 , wherein the colossal-K dielectric layer comprises at least one of barium strontium titanate, barium titanate, and strontium titanate.

9 . An optical apparatus, comprising:
one or more electrically reconfigurable optical elements comprising phase-change nickelate or tungsten oxide, wherein one or more optical properties of the electrically reconfigurable optical elements are reconfigurable by an electric field such that a refractive index of the electrically reconfigurable optical elements comprising the phase-change nickelate or tungsten oxide is changeable by more than 0.1 at an infrared wavelength.

10 . The optical apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the electrically reconfigurable optical elements comprising the phase-change nickelate or tungsten oxide has a perovskite structure.

11 . The optical apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the phase-change nickelate comprises at least one of GdNiO 3 , EuNiO 3 , SmNiO 3 , NdNiO 3 and PrNiO 3 .

12 . The optical apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the optical apparatus is configured to actuate a refractive index change of the electrically reconfigurable optical elements of more than 0.1 with the electric field applied.

13 . The optical apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising a colossal-K dielectric layer disposed proximate to the electrically reconfigurable optical elements.

14 . The optical apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the colossal-K dielectric layer comprises at least one of barium strontium titanate, barium titanate, or strontium titanate.

15 . An optical apparatus, comprising:
an electrically reconfigurable optical layer comprising at least one phase-change material, wherein an optical property of the phase-change material in a predetermined wavelength range is reconfigurable by an electric field; a top electrode and a bottom electrode, the top and bottom electrodes configured to apply the electric field to the electrically reconfigurable optical layer, wherein the electrically reconfigurable optical layer is disposed between the optically transparent top electrode and the bottom electrode and wherein the top electrode is optically transparent in said wavelength range; and a colossal-K dielectric layer disposed between the electrically reconfigurable optical layer and at least one of the top and the bottom electrode.

16 . The optical apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the phase-change material of the electrically reconfigurable optical layer comprises phase-change nickelate or tungsten oxide.

17 . The optical apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the phase-change nickelate comprises at least one of GdNiO 3 , EuNiO 3 , SmNiO 3 , NdNiO 3 and PrNiO 3 .

18 . The optical apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the phase-change material of the electrically reconfigurable optical layer has a perovskite structure.

19 . The optical apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the colossal-k dielectric layer comprises at least one of barium strontium titanate, barium titanate, and strontium titanate.

20 . The optical apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the optically transparent top electrode comprises an Ag nanowire-based material, Graphene-based material, and an ultrathin metal film made by an Atomic layer deposition.

21 . The optical apparatus of claim 16 , wherein a refractive index change of the electrically phase-change material is more than 0.1 at an infrared wavelength spectrum.

22 . The optical apparatus of claim 16 , wherein a refractive index change of the electrically phase-change material is more than 1 at an infrared wavelength spectrum.

23 . The optical apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the electrically reconfigurable optical layer comprises a pixelated array of the phase-change material.

24 . The optical apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the optical apparatus is configured to actuate the refractive index change of the phase-change material of more than 0.1 with the electric field applied.

Assignees

• Hrl Lab Llc

Inventors

• Son Kyung-Ah
• Moon Jeong-Sun
• Quarfoth Ryan G

Classifications

• G02F2203/11

  involving infrared radiation · CPC title

• G02F1/29

  for the control of the position or the direction of light beams, i.e. deflection · CPC title

• G02F1/19 Primary

  based on variable-reflection or variable-refraction elements not provided for in groups G02F1/015 - G02F1/169 · CPC title

• G02B27/0977

  Reflective elements · CPC title

• H04N5/33

  Transforming infrared radiation (cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20) · CPC title