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Devices based on surface plasmon interference filters

  • US 6,297,907 B1
  • Filed: 08/31/1998
  • Issued: 10/02/2001
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/02/1997
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An optical device, comprising:

  • a first array of prisms formed of a transparent material, each prism having at least a first prism facet and a second prism facet intersecting said first prism facet at a prism apex;

    at least one metal layer and an electro-optical dielectric layer contacting each other to form a metal-dielectric interface on each prism facet, wherein said dielectric layer has a refractive index less than a refractive index of said first and second arrays of prisms, and wherein said metal-dielectric interface generates a surface plasmon wave in response to a p-polarized input light beam to transmit light at a selected wavelength within a bandwidth according to a control voltage from said metal layer to said dielectric layer and reflects light of other wavelengths; and

    a second array of prisms substantially identical to said first array, disposed to engage to said first array in such a way that each prism facet in said second array conformably contacts said metal-dielectric interface formed on a respective prism facet of said first array, wherein said second array couples an input light beam to said metal-dielectric interface and the said first and second arrays are configured so that said input light beam is respectively reflected once by metal-dielectric interfaces on two adjacent prism facets of said first array to produce a desired color and a desired grey scale.

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