Apparatus and methods for modulating refractive index
First Claim
1. An iono-refractive device comprising:
- an ion conduction layer; and
an ion insertion layer adjacent the ion conduction layer, the ion insertion layer having a refractive index and a bandgap energy (Eg), the refractive index having a real portion and an imaginary portion;
wherein;
upon illuminating the ion insertion layer with light having sub-bandgap energy, the real portion of the refractive index changes by more than about 0.1 and the imaginary portion of the refractive index changes by less than about 0.2 in response to applying an electric field.
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Abstract
An iono-refractive structure that includes one or more ion insertion layers having a real portion and an imaginary portion of the dielectric constant is provided. While both the real portion and the imaginary portion of the dielectric constant change, the change in the imaginary portion is less than the change in the real portion at the wavelength of interest or at the operational wavelength. The iono-refractive structure may be suitable for the fabrication of or integration with tunable optical filters, wavelength-selective optical elements, active modulated interferometers, optical phase shifters, optical phased array beam steering, optical phased array beam tracking, tunable optical filters, sensors, variable lenses, tunable diffraction gratings, and other optical components.
140 Citations
2 Claims
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1. An iono-refractive device comprising:
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an ion conduction layer; and an ion insertion layer adjacent the ion conduction layer, the ion insertion layer having a refractive index and a bandgap energy (Eg), the refractive index having a real portion and an imaginary portion;
wherein;upon illuminating the ion insertion layer with light having sub-bandgap energy, the real portion of the refractive index changes by more than about 0.1 and the imaginary portion of the refractive index changes by less than about 0.2 in response to applying an electric field. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeEclipse Energy Systems Inc.
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Original AssigneeEclipse Energy Systems Inc.
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InventorsGroger, Howard P, Westfall, Raymond T
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Primary Examiner(s)Schwartz, Jordan
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Assistant Examiner(s)STULTZ, JESSICA T
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Application NumberUS11/325,868Time in Patent Office335 DaysField of Search359/273US Class Current359/273CPC Class CodesG02F 1/19 based on variable-reflectio...G02F 1/213 Fabry-Perot typeG02F 1/3136 of interferometric switch typeG02F 1/3137 with intersecting or branch...
