Optronic window transparent to IR and reflecting RF

• US 9,012,788 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2011
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Czarny, Romain, Reverchon, Jean-Luc, Pate, Michel, Loiseaux, Brigitte, Berginc, Grard
• Primary Examiner(s): Norris, Jeremy C
• Application Number:
  US13/885,651
• Publication Number:
  US 20140146511A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,253 Days
• US Class Current: 174/261
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2207/121 Antistatic or EM shielding layer
• 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 5/207 comprising semiconducting materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/1016 comprising transparent or semitransparent devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/109 the potential barrier being of the PN heterojunction type
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0274 Optical details, e.g. printed circuits comprising integral optical means H05K1/0269 takes precedence; coupling light guides with opto-electronic components G02B6/42
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 9/0058 specially adapted for optoelectronic applications
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 9/0094 being light-transmitting, e.g. transparent, translucent

Abstract

An optronic porthole comprises a substrate with two faces. It comprises on one of the faces of the substrate or on both faces, a stack of several hetero-structures, each hetero-structure being composed of at least two semi-conducting layers SC1, SC2, the layer SC1 being doped, the layer SC2 itself comprising a two-dimensional electron gas layer formed at the interface with the layer SC1. It furthermore comprises an electrode in contact with all the electron gas layers, a bi-periodic metallic grid buried in the stack, in contact with the electrode. The substrate and the layers are transparent in the 0.4 μm-5 μm band.

Claims

1. An optronic porthole comprising:

a substrate with two faces, with on one of the faces of the substrate or on both faces, a stack of several hetero-structures, each hetero-structure being composed of at least two semi-conducting layers SC1, SC2, the layer SC1 being doped, the layer SC2 itself comprising a two-dimensional electron gas layer formed at the interface with the layer SC1, further comprising an electrode in contact with all the electron gas layers, a bi-periodic metallic grid buried in the stack, in contact with the electrode and the substrate and the layers are transparent in the 0.4 μ

m-5 μ

m band.

2. The optronic porthole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grid has regular mesh cells.

3. The optronic porthole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grid has a wire of thickness less than 5 μ

m and a pitch of less than 500 μ

m.

4. The optronic porthole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the semi-conducting layer SC2 is undoped.

5. The optronic porthole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hetero-structures are of different thickness and/or are not composed of the same materials and/or do not comprise the same number of layers.

6. The optronic porthole as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a stack of 10 to 80 hetero-structures.

7. The optronic porthole as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a buffer layer between the substrate and the stack of hetero-structures.

8. The optronic porthole as claimed in claim 1, further comprising one or two antireflection layers.

9. The optronic porthole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate is made of Sapphire or SiC or Si and the layer SC2 is made of GaN and the layer SC1 of AlGaN with an Al concentration of between 25 to 30%.

10. An optronic window comprising a porthole as claimed in claim 1, embedded in an electrically conducting mechanical structure, the electrode of the porthole being linked to this electrically conducting structure.