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US 6,285,816 B1Granted
Waveguide
AssigneeWisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
InventorsMarc A. Anderson, Lawrence W. Miller, Maria Isabel Tejedor-Anderson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A waveguide comprising a transparent substrate and a metal oxide coating having the disclosed properties on the substrate can propagate light in an attenuated total reflection mode.
Claims22
A waveguide for propagating light of a selected wavelength in an attenuated total reflection mode, the waveguide comprising;
- a transparent internal reflection element (IRE);
- and
- a particulate transition metal oxide coating on one or more surfaces of the IRE, the coating having a boundary parallel to the at least one IRE surface, wherein the coating does not scatter light of the selected wavelength and has a refractive index greater than that of the IRE.
An apparatus for photocatalytic conversion of an organic compound;
- the apparatus comprising:
- a waveguide coated with a photocatalyst for propagating light in an attenuated total reflection mode;
- a light source for illuminating the photocatalyst with light having energy sufficient to activate the photocatalyst so that the light is propagated through the coated waveguide in an attenuated total reflection mode.
A method for making a waveguide, the method comprising the step of:
- applying to an internal reflection element (IRE) a parallel coating of a particulate metal oxide coating having an index of refraction greater than that of the IRE.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.