Electromagnetically responsive element with self resonant bodies

• US 20110190167A1
• Filed: 09/24/2010
• Published: 08/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Clarence T. Tegreene, Lowell L. Wood Jr, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Roderick A. Hyde, W. Daniel Hillis
• Original Assignee: Clarence T. Tegreene, Lowell L. Wood Jr, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Roderick A. Hyde, W. Daniel Hillis
• Inventors: Myhrvold, Nathan P., Tegreene, Clarence T., Hillis, W. Daniel, Wood, Lowell L. JR., Hyde, Roderick A.
• Application Number:
  US12/924,371
• Publication Number:
  US 20110190167A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 506/16
• 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: G02F 1/01716 Optically controlled superlattice or quantum well devices
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/01791 Quantum boxes or quantum dots
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3515 All-optical modulation, gating, switching, e.g. control of a light beam by another light beam G02F1/353, G02F1/37, G02F1/39 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3517 using an interferometer
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2203/15 involving resonance effects, e.g. resonantly enhanced interaction

Abstract

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

Claims

1. An optical component having a selected optical response to excitation energy at a selected frequency ω

, comprising;

an array of self resonant bodies, each of the self resonant bodies having a frequency line center ω

₀ substantially at the selected frequency ω

, the self resonant bodies being arranged in a pattern corresponding to the selected optical response,

wherein the pattern defines an effective dielectric permittivity/refractive index profile corresponding to the selected optical response at the selected frequency ω

.

2. The optical component of claim 1 wherein the pattern defines a refractive index profile substantially according to:

n=√

{square root over (∈

μ

)}

where

n is the local refractive index;

∈

=∈

₁−

i∈

₂

∈

₁=1+4π

Ndu

∈

₂=4π

Ndv

and where

3. The optical component of claim 2 including a first location wherein the pattern defines a refractive index profile that decreases radially from the first location.

4. The optical component of claim 1 wherein the pattern corresponding to the selected optical response includes a gradient distribution of the self resonant bodies.

5. The optical component of claim 4 wherein the gradient distribution of the self resonant bodies includes a gradient distribution having a peak density of self resonant bodies along a central axis.

6. The optical component of claim 4 wherein the gradient distribution of the self resonant bodies is symmetrical about a central axis.

7. The optical component of claim 4 wherein the gradient distribution of the self resonant bodies includes a gradient distribution having a local minimum of density of self resonant bodies along a central axis.

8. The optical component of claim 4 wherein the gradient distribution of the self resonant bodies includes a gradient distribution having a peak density of self resonant bodies along a central axis.

9. The optical component of claim 4 wherein the gradient distribution of the self resonant bodies includes a gradient distribution having a minimum density of self resonant bodies along a central axis.

10. The optical component of claim 1 wherein each of the self resonant bodies is an atomic structure.

11. The optical component of claim 10 wherein each of the self resonant bodies includes a rare earth atom.

12. The optical component of claim 1 wherein each of the self resonant bodies includes a quantum dot.

13. The optical component of claim 1 wherein each of the self resonant bodies includes a quantum dot bound to an organic molecule.

14. The optical component of claim 1 wherein each of the patterns is a periodic pattern.

15. The optical component of claim 1 wherein each of the patterns is an aperiodic pattern.

16. The optical component of claim 1 further including a substrate carrying the self resonant bodies.

17. The optical component of claim 16 wherein the substrate is substantially transparent at the line center frequency.

18. The optical component of claim 17 wherein the substrate has a refractive index greater than 1.

19. The optical component of claim 1 wherein the selected optical response is a focusing response.

24. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the self-resonant bodies consist of one or more self-resonant atomic bodies.

25. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the self-resonant bodies include quantum dots.

26. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the array of self-resonant bodies is placed on a supporting structure that includes a plurality of binding sites arranged according to the selected pattern.

27. The optical component of claim 26, wherein one or more of the binding sites in the plurality of binding sites includes a binding agent of a type that adheres one or more of the self-resonant bodies at the binding site.

28. The optical component of claim 27, wherein the binding agent includes a biological component.

29. The optical component of claim 28, wherein the biological component includes at least a portion of a DNA fragment.

30. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the array of self-resonant bodies is patterned to be a lens selectively responsive to a principal frequency and includes:

a set of atomic bodies each having a linewidth and a center frequency, the linewidth and center frequency defining a range that includes the principal frequency, the atomic bodies being arranged to define an index profile at the principal frequency that produces focusing.

31. The lens of claim 30 wherein each of the atomic bodies includes a plurality of resonant atoms.

32. The lens of claim 30 wherein each of the atomic bodies has a Q greater than 10.

33. The lens of claim 30 wherein the center frequency is less than the principal frequency.

34. The lens of claim 30 wherein each of the atomic bodies includes quantum levels responsive to input energy to saturate.

35. The lens of claim 34 wherein the index profile includes regions with a real part having a first value at a first level of input energy and a second value at a second level of input energy.

36. The lens of claim 35 wherein the first level and second level have opposite signs.

37. The lens of claim 34 wherein the quantum levels are responsive to input energy at the principal frequency.

38. The lens of claim 30 further including:

a supporting structure having a plurality of binding locations arranged according to the defined index profile and one or more binders at each of the binding locations.

39. The lens of claim 38 wherein the one or more binders at each of the binding locations includes a biological material.

40. The lens of claim 39 wherein the biological material includes one or more peptides.

46. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the array of self-resonant bodies is a spatial pattern of oscillators or quantum dots defined by photolithographic techniques.

47. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the array of self-resonant bodies is a defined pattern of oscillators obtained by trapping a selected set of atoms in an optical lattice.

48. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the array of self-resonant bodies is a defined pattern of oscillators obtained by trapping a selected set of atoms in a lattice of magnetic field, electrostatic or quasi-static electric or magnetic field traps.

49. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the array of self-resonant bodies is a spatial pattern of nanoparticles bonded to oligonucleotides.

50. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the array of self-resonant bodies is held or defined by structures on planar surfaces.

51. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the array of self-resonant bodies is held in a corresponding array of Ioffe-Pritchard micro-traps.

52. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the Ioffe-Pritchard micro-traps are formed using planar microstructures.

53. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the Ioffe-Pritchard micro-traps are formed using planar microstructures of hard magnetic material.

54. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the Ioffe-Pritchard micro-traps are formed using planar patterns of FePt alloy.

55. The optical component of claim 1, wherein the Ioffe-Pritchard micro-traps are formed using planar patterns of FePt alloy film on a silicon substrate.

56. The optical component of claim 1, wherein at least some of the array of self-resonant bodies are located beneath the surface of a substrate.

20-23. -23. (canceled)

41-45. -45. (canceled)