Assembly of quasicrystalline photonic heterostructures

• US 20070119522A1
• Filed: 07/07/2006
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: New York University, The Trustees of Princeton University (Princeton University)
• Original Assignee: Princeton University
• Inventors: Roichman, Yael, Man, Weining, Grier, David, Chaikin, Paul, Steinhardt, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 7,981,774 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 148/403
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/1225 comprising photonic band-gap structures or photonic lattices

Abstract

A method and system for assembling a quasicrystalline heterostructure. A plurality of particles is provided with desirable predetermined character. The particles are suspended in a medium, and holographic optical traps are used to position the particles in a way to achieve an arrangement which provides a desired property.

Claims

1. A method for assembling a quasicyrstalline heterostructure having selectable properties, comprising:

providing a plurality of particles of predetermined character;

suspending the plurality of particles in a fluid medium; and

forming holographic optical traps in a particular quasicrystalline arrangement to establish the plurality of particles in that particular arrangement to achieve a selectable property.

2. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the particular quasicrystalline arrangement of the plurality of particles provides a preselected symmetry unachievable by crystalline materials.

3. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the particles are selected from the group of objects manipulable by optical traps including at least one of microparticles, nanoparticles, large molecules, and biological cells.

4. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the predetermined character comprises at least one of a desired chemical feature, an optical feature, a biological feature, a magnetic feature, an electronic feature and a mechanical property.

5. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the selectable property is selected from the group consisting of a photonic band gap, a chemical functionality, an electrical conductivity attribute, a biological attribute and a magnetic attribute.

6. The method as defined in claim 5 wherein the photonic band gap controls light propagation in a composite of dielectric materials.

7. The method as defined in claim 5 wherein the chemical functionality comprises catalytic activity.

8. The method as defined in claim 5 wherein the electrical conductivity is selected from the group of metallic, semiconducting and superconducting.

9. The method as defined in claim 5 wherein the magnetic attribute comprises a high magnetic flux exhibited by the plurality of particles.

10. The method as defined in claim 5 wherein the chemical functionality comprises a preselected changed chemical property.

11. The method as defined in claim 5 wherein the chemical functionality comprises a change in a property over a corresponding crystalline structure composed of same chemical composition.

12. The method as defined in claim 1 further including the step of dynamically altering the particular arrangement for achieving different ones of the selectable property for a selected application.

13. The method as defined in claim 12 wherein the selected application comprises at least one of changing a quasicrystalline property selected from the group consisting of mechanical properties, electrical properties, chemical properties, magnetic properties and biological functionality.

14. The method as defined in claim 1 further including the step of applying at least one of an electromagnetic field, an electrical field and a magnetic field to further modify properties of the quasicrystalline arrangement.

15. The method as defined in claim 1 further including the step of embedding the quasicrystalline arrangement in a system to carry out an industrial application.

16. An article of manufacture comprising a quasicyrstalline material having a structure of particles arranged by use of optical traps, the quasicrystalline material having properties different than its corresponding crystalline chemical counterpart.

17. The article of manufacture as defined in claim 16 wherein the properties different than its corresponding crystalline chemical counterpart comprise at least one of photonic band gap, mechanical properties, biological properties, magnetic properties, electrical properties and chemical properties.

18. The article of manufacture as described in claim 16 wherein the quasicrystalline material includes at least one of programmed defects, replaced ones of the particles of different size or shape, phase slip boundaries and mixtures of different domains of at least one of quasicrystalline and crystalline domains.

19. A method of assembling a heterostructure having selectable properties, comprising:

providing a plurality of particles of predetermined character selected from the group of size, shape, biological property or chemical property;

providing a particle movement force to establish a particular quasicrystalline arrangaement; and

arranging the plurality of particles using the particle movement force to establish a quasicrystalline arrangement of the particles.

20. The method as defined in claim 19 further including at least one of the steps of establishing a defect state in the quasicrystalline arrangement, replacing at least one of the plurality of particles with a particle of different size or shape or property, establishing a different quasicrystalline domain within the quasicrystalline arrangement, mixing in a crystalline domain with the quasicrystalline arrangement and arranging the plurality of particles by self assembly.