High-Q resonators assembly

• US 20090046976A1
• Filed: 09/29/2008
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Myhrvold, Nathan P., Tegreene, Clarence T., Wood, Lowell L. JR., Hyde, Roderick A., Hillis, Daniel W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,369,659 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/8
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/00 Optical elements characterised by the material of which they are made; Optical coatings for optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/12007 forming wavelength selective elements, e.g. multiplexer, demultiplexer

Abstract

An electromagnetically responsive element includes sets of arrangements of self-resonant bodies, such as atoms or quantum dots that form an effective dielectric constant, typically at or near a resonance.

Claims

1. A structure having an effective index of refraction for received electromagnetic energy at a selected frequency, comprising:

an array of microcavity/microring resonators arranged in a spatial pattern that determines the effective index of refraction of the structure,

wherein each microcavity/microring resonator has a line center frequency substantially at the selected frequency, a respective set of electromagnetic parameters, and a Q-factor,

and wherein the spatial pattern is a function of the effective index of refraction, the electromagnetic parameters, and the respective Q-factors.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein the microcavity/microring resonators have an inter-resonator coupling that is a determined at least in part by a separation between substantially adjacent ones of the closed-loop resonators, and wherein the spatial pattern is a function of the inter-microcavity/microring resonator coupling.

3. The structure of claim 1, wherein the microcavity/microring resonators have spectral responses that are a function of resonator orientation, and wherein each closed-loop resonator is oriented in a respective direction relative to the received electromagnetic energy.

4. The structure of claim 1, wherein each microcavity/microring resonator has a line center frequency ω

c such that the selected frequency is within a resonance half width (ω

c/Q) of ω

c.

5-36. -36. (canceled)

37. A method of modifying propagation of incident electromagnetic energy, the method comprising:

intercepting the incident electromagnetic energy with a region having a particular effective refractive index n(ω

),

wherein a plurality of coupled closed-loop resonators are distributed in the region,

wherein each resonator has a resonant frequency response that is a function of a resonator orientation and is characterized by a quality factor Q (ω

c), where ω

is frequency, and ω

c is a resonance line center frequency, and wherein the resonators are distributed in the region in a selected spatial arrangement so that the region exhibits the particular effective refractive index n(ω

) to the incident electromagnetic energy.

42. The method of claim 37, wherein a multiplicity of the closed-loop resonators have substantially the same resonance line center frequencies ω

c.

38-41. -41. (canceled)

43-54. -54. (canceled)

55. A method for controlling the effective index of refraction of an array of coupled self-resonators for incident electromagnetic energy at a selected frequency, each self-resonator having a time-dependent resonance at a resonance line center frequency ω

c substantially at the selected frequency and having a respective set of electromagnetic parameters, and a Q-factor, the method comprising;

modifying the self-resonators'"'"' resonances in response to an input signal, thereby changing the effective index of refraction of the array of coupled self-resonators.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein modifying the self-resonators'"'"' resonances comprises at least one of tuning/detuning resonance line center frequency ω

c, changing a resonance Q-factor, or a combination thereof.

57. The method of claim 56, further comprising, tuning the self-resonators'"'"' resonances so that the resonances are substantially at the same line center frequency ω

c at a particular time t.

58. The method of claim 56, further comprising, tuning the self-resonators so that at a particular time t their resonances substantially overlap over a range of frequencies R.

59. The method of claim 56, further comprising, tuning/detuning the resonators in a time-dependent manner so that the array of coupled self-resonators modulates the incident electromagnetic energy according to an input signal.