Frequency- and Amplitude-Modulated Narrow-Band Infrared Emitters

• US 20170221596A1
• Filed: 01/27/2017
• Published: 08/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Government Of The United States Of America, As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy
• Original Assignee: The Government Of The United States Of America, As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy
• Inventors: Caldwell, Joshua D., Wheeler, Virginia D., Currie, Marc, Vurgaftman, Igor, Maria, Jon-paul
• Granted Patent: US 9,870,839 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/108 for measurement in the infrared range
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0896 using a light source, e.g. for illuminating a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G21K 5/00 Irradiation devices discharge tubes for irradiating H01J37/00
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 15/10 Thermoelectric devices using thermal change of the dielectric constant, e.g. working above and below the Curie point

Abstract

IR emission devices comprising an array of polaritonic IR emitters arranged on a substrate, where the emitters are coupled to a heater configured to provide heat to one or more of the emitters. When the emitters are heated, they produce an infrared emission that can be polarized and whose spectral emission range, emission wavelength, and/or emission linewidth can be tuned by the polaritonic material used to form the elements of the array and/or by the size and/or shape of the emitters. The IR emission can be modulated by the induction of a strain into a ferroelectric, a change in the crystalline phase of a phase change material and/or by quickly applying and dissipating heat applied to the polaritonic nanostructure. The IR emission can be designed to be hidden in the thermal background so that it can be observed only under the appropriate filtering and/or demodulation conditions.

Claims

1. An infrared (IR) emission device, comprising:

a plurality of fabricated nano-scale polaritonic material structures arranged on a substrate, the polaritonic material structures comprising at least one ferroelectric material;

an electrical power source configured to induce a strain in the ferroelectric material; and

a heater configured to apply heat to at least one of the polaritonic material structures;

wherein heat from the heater causes the at least one polaritonic material structure to produce an IR emission; and

wherein a predetermined wavelength, a predetermined linewidth, or a predetermined amplitude of the IR emission from the at least one polaritonic material structure can be obtained by an application of a predetermined electrical bias from the electrical power source to the ferroelectric material.

2. The IR emission device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one polaritonic material structure is formed from a polaritonic core having a ferroelectric material coating thereon.

3. The IR emission device according to claim 2, wherein the polaritonic core is silicon carbide (SiC) and the ferroelectric material coating is aluminum nitride (AlN).

4. The IR emission device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one polaritonic material structure is formed from a polaritonic ferroelectric material.

5. The IR emission device according to claim 4, wherein the polaritonic ferrorelectric material is AN or barium strontanate.

6. The IR emission device according to claim 4, wherein at least some of the polaritonic material structures are coated with a thermal dissipation layer.

7. The IR emission device according to claim 1, wherein the array of fabricated nano-scale polaritonic material structures comprises an array of silicon carbide bowtie nanoantennas.

8. The IR emission device according to claim 1, further comprising a thermal dissipation layer disposed between the substrate and the polaritonic material structures.

9. The IR emission device according to claim 1, wherein the heater comprises boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond.

10. An infrared (IR) emission device, comprising:

a plurality of fabricated nano-scale polaritonic material structures arranged on a substrate, the one polaritonic material structures comprising at least one phase change material; and

a heater configured to apply heat to at least one of the polaritonic material structures;

wherein heat from the heater causes the at least one polaritonic material structure to produce an IR emission; and

wherein a predetermined wavelength, a predetermined linewidth, or a predetermined amplitude of the IR emission from the at least one polaritonic material structure can be obtained by changing the local dielectric function of the phase change material in a predetermined manner.

11. The IR emission device according to claim 10, wherein the local dielectric function of the phase change material is changed by a predetermined heating of at least one of the polaritonic material structures.

12. The IR emission device according to claim 10, wherein the local dielectric function of the phase change material is changed by a predetermined laser excitation of at least one of the polaritonic material structures.

13. The IR emission device according to claim 10, further comprising a voltage source configured to apply an electrical bias to the at least one of the phase change material structures;

wherein the local dielectric function of the phase change material is changed by an application of a predetermined voltage bias to the phase change material.

14. The IR emission device according to claim 10, wherein the at least one polaritonic material structure is formed from a polaritonic core having a phase change material coating thereon.

15. The IR emission device according to claim 14, wherein the polaritonic core is silicon carbide (SiC) and the phase change material is vanadium oxide (VO₂), vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅), germanium-antimony-tellurium (GeSbTe), or tungsten trioxide (WO₃).

16. The IR emission device according to claim 10, wherein the at least one polaritonic material structure is formed from a polaritonic phase change material.

17. The IR emission device according to claim 16, wherein the polaritonic phase change material is vanadium dioxide (VO₂) or vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅).

18. The IR emission device according to claim 16, wherein at least some of the polaritonic material structures are coated with a thermal dissipation layer.

19. The IR emission device according to claim 10, wherein the array of fabricated nano-scale polaritonic material structures comprises an array of silicon carbide bowtie nanoantennas.

20. The IR emission device according to claim 10, further comprising a thermal dissipation layer disposed between the substrate and the polaritonic material structures.

21. The IR emission device according to claim 10, wherein the heater comprises boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond.

22. An infrared (IR) emission device, comprising:

a plurality of fabricated nano-scale polaritonic material structures arranged on a substrate, at least some of the polaritonic material structures being coated with a thermal dissipation material layer; and

a heater configured to apply heat to at least one of the polaritonic material structures;

wherein heat from the heater causes the at least one polaritonic material structure to produce an IR emission; and

wherein a predetermined amplitude, a predetermined wavelength, or a predetermined linewidth of the IR emission from the at least one polaritonic material structure can be obtained by selectively applying heat to and removing heat from the at least one polaritonic material structure.

23. The IR emission device according to claim 22, wherein the thermal dissipation layer is nanodiamond or boron arsenide.

24. The IR emission device according to claim 22, wherein the heater is boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond.

25. An infrared (IR) emission device, comprising:

a plurality of fabricated polaritonic material structures arranged on a thermal dissipation layer; and

a heater configured to apply heat to at least one of the polaritonic material structures;

wherein heat from the heater causes the at least one polaritonic material structure to produce an IR emission; and

wherein at least one of a predetermined amplitude, a predetermined wavelength, and a predetermined linewidth of the IR emission can be obtained by selectively applying heat to and removing heat from the at least one polaritonic material structure.

26. The IR emission device according to claim 25, wherein the thermal dissipation layer is nanodiamond or boron arsenide.

27. The IR emission device according to claim 25, wherein the heater is boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond.

28. An infrared (IR) emission device, comprising:

a first plurality of fabricated nano-scale first polaritonic material structures arranged on a substrate, the first polaritonic material structures comprising at least one ferroelectric material; and

a second plurality of fabricated nano-scale second polaritonic material structures arranged on the substrate, the second polaritonic material structures comprising at least one phase change material;

an electrical power source configured to induce a strain in the ferroelectric material; and

a heater configured to apply heat to at least one of the first and second polaritonic material structures;

wherein heat from the heater causes the at least one polaritonic material structure to produce an IR emission; and

wherein a predetermined spatially varying wavelength, a linewidth, or amplitude of the IR emission can be obtained by an application of a predetermined electrical bias from the electrical power source to a predetermined plurality of the first and/or second polaritonic material structures.

29. The IR emission device according to claim 28, further wherein the wavelength, linewidth, or amplitude of the second polaritonic material structures is changed by a predetermined heating of the second polaritonic material structures.

30. The IR emission device according to claim 28 wherein the wavelength, linewidth, or amplitude of the second polaritonic material structures is changed by a predetermined laser excitation of at least one of the polaritonic material structures.