Photonic crystal device for fluid sensing
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorZhiyong Li
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Abstract
An apparatus for sensing at least one property of a fluid is described. A first photonic crystal structure and a second photonic crystal structure are defined in a dielectric slab. The first and second photonic crystal structures comprise differently patterned arrays of channels extending through the dielectric slab. The apparatus further comprises a fluid introduction device configured to introduce a common volume of the fluid into the channels of the first and second photonic crystal structures. The at least one property of the fluid can be sensed by measuring the propagation of radiation through the first and second photonic crystal structures.
Claims25
An apparatus for sensing at least one property of a fluid, comprising:
- a dielectric slab into which is defined a first photonic crystal structure and a second photonic crystal structure, said first and second photonic crystal structures comprising differently patterned arrays of channels extending through said dielectric slab;
- and
- a fluid introduction device configured to introduce a common volume of the fluid into the channels of said first and second photonic crystal structures;
- whereby the at least one property of the fluid can be sensed by measuring the propagation of radiation through said first and second photonic crystal structures.
A method, comprising:
- introducing a common volume of a fluid into a plurality of columnar channels formed in a dielectric slab, said channels defining an array of photonic crystals in the dielectric slab, each photonic crystal in said array having a different channel pattern than the other photonic crystals in said array;
- introducing electromagnetic radiation into said array of photonic crystals;
- and
- sensing at least one property of the fluid by measuring the propagation of said electromagnetic radiation through said array of photonic crystals.
A fluid sensing device, comprising:
- a first photonic crystal and a second photonic crystal formed into a common slab of bulk material, said first and second photonic crystals comprising differently patterned arrays of channels extending through said common slab;
- means for introducing a common volume of the fluid into the channels of said first and second photonic crystals;
- means for introducing electromagnetic radiation into said photonic crystals;
- and
- means for measuring the propagation of said electromagnetic radiation through said photonic crystals to sense at least one property of the fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.