MICRON-SIZE PLASMONIC COLOR SORTER

• US 20190310398A1
• Filed: 07/06/2017
• Published: 10/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BAR ILAN University
• Original Assignee: BAR ILAN University
• Inventors: SALOMON, Adi, WEISSMAN, Adam, SEGAL, Elad
• Granted Patent: US 11,249,226 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 35/00 Methods or apparatus for measurement or analysis of nanostructures
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/43 by measuring critical angle
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/553 and using surface plasmons fluorescence excitation G01N21/648; enhanced Raman G01N21/658
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/002 made of materials engineered to provide properties not available in nature, e.g. metamaterials
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/008 Surface plasmon devices diffractive gratings with a pitch less than or comparable to the wavelength G02B5/1809; surface plasmons in integrated optics G02B6/1226; optical analysis of materials by means of surface plasmons G01N21/553
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/204 in which spectral selection is performed by means of a conductive grid or array, e.g. frequency selective surfaces for use with wavelengths longer than the infrared light H01Q15/0006
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/3025 Polarisers, i.e. arrangements capable of producing a definite output polarisation state from an unpolarised input state G02B5/3008, G02B5/3016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/23 for the control of the colour G02F1/03 - G02F1/21 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2203/055 wavelength filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2203/10 plasmon

Abstract

Provided is an optical device including a dielectric transparent substrate and a metallic layer having a thickness between about 20 nm and about 1000 nm disposed on the transparent substrate. The metallic layer comprises at least one localized group of cavities, each localized group being confined within a diameter smaller than about 5 um, and each localized group comprising at least two cavities, with a distance between two adjacent cavities in the localized group being between about 100 nm and about 2000 nm. Each cavity in the localized group is shaped as a through-hole in the metallic layer, the through hole having a polygonal cross-section having a polygon side length between 50 nm and 2000 nm.

Claims

1. An optical device comprising

a dielectric transparent substrate, and

a metallic layer having a thickness between about 20 nm and about 1000 nm disposed on said substrate and comprising at least one localized group of cavities, each localized group being confined within a diameter smaller than about 5 um, and each localized group comprising at least two cavities, with a distance between two adjacent cavities in said localized group being between about 100 nm and about 2000 nm, each cavity in said localized group being shaped as a through-hole in said metallic layer, said through-hole having a polygonal cross-section having a polygon side length between 50 nm and 2000 nm.

2. The optical device of claim 1, wherein said polygonal cross-section is selected from the group consisting of a triangle, a square and a rectangle.

4. The optical device of claim 1, wherein said localized group comprises at least a first pair of triangular cavities, arranged to have their bases arranged around a central point in between the triangles thereby defining a central metallic region there between.

5. The optical device of claim 4, wherein said localized group comprises at least a first pair of triangular cavities arranged along a first interaction axis and pointing to opposite directions from one another thereby having their bases facing each other thereby defining said central metallic region there between.

6. The optical device of claim 4, wherein said localized group further comprises a second pair of triangular cavities, pointing to opposite directions from one another and arranged along a second interaction axis, perpendicular to said first interaction axis.

7. The optical device of claim 1, wherein said localized group comprises between 3 and 7 triangular cavities aligned along a straight line, all triangles pointing to a same direction.

9. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the diameter of the localized group of cavities is smaller than about 2 μ

m.

10. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the at least one localized group of cavities generates one color pixel, wherein the color pixel has a diameter, which corresponds to the diameter of said at least one localized group.

13. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the metallic layer comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of Ag, Al, Au and Cu.

14. The optical device of claim 1, wherein said at least one localized group comprises a plurality of localized groups arranged in an array, wherein said distance between two adjacent cavities in said localized group is smaller than a distance between two different localized groups.

15. The optical device of claim 14, wherein the plurality of localized groups are identical to each other.

16. The optical device of claim 14, wherein the plurality of localized groups have different distances between two adjacent cavities in the localized group and/or different diameters or wherein the plurality of localized groups have different polygon side lengths of the cavities in the localized group.

20. The optical device of claim 1, configured for use as a dynamic color generator, dynamic color sorter, opto-chemical sensor, a light coherent convertor, or an illumination device.

21. A system comprising the optical device of claim 1, and at least one of a polarizer, source of electromagnetic radiation, microscope, spectrograph, spectrometer, monochromator, filter, and camera.

25. A dynamic color generator, comprising the optical device of claim 1, comprising a plurality of localized groups of cavities;

a source of electromagnetic radiation; and

a polarizer, wherein at least a portion of the localized groups of cavities have different distances between two adjacent cavities in the localized group.

28. A sensing system, comprising the optical device of claim 1, comprising a plurality of localized groups of cavities;

a polarizer; and

an optical pattern recognition analyzer.

29. The sensing system of claim 28, wherein the optical device comprises a sensor layer configured to bind analyte molecules.

31. The sensing system of claim 28, wherein the optical pattern recognition analyzer comprises at least one of a microscope, a spectrophotometer, a spectrograph, and a camera and wherein the optical pattern recognition analyzer further comprises a processing unit, which compares electromagnetic radiation generated by the localized groups of cavities to stored data.

36. A method of detecting an analyte, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing the sensing system of claim 28;

(b) exposing the optical device to a test sample;

(c) detecting the electromagnetic radiation generated by the localized groups using the optical pattern analyzer;

(d) comparing the electromagnetic radiation using the optical pattern analyzer to the stored data.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the analyte is selected from the group consisting of a herbicide, pesticide, explosive, volatile organic compound, and disease biomarker.

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