Electronically reconfigurable planar crossbar array optical elements
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorJingjing Li
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Abstract
Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to dynamically and electronically reconfigurable optical devices that can be operated as a lens or prism for incident beams of electromagnetic radiation. The optical devices include a phase-modulation layer (1501) disposed between first and second nanowire layers (1502,1503). Overlapping nanowires can be electronically addressed to implement a selected effective refractive index pattern of one or more regions (1510) of the phase-modulation layer, such that each region refracts a portion of an incident beam of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of interest in order to focus, diverge, or bend the incident beam.
Claims15
A dynamically reconfigurable optical device comprising:
- a first layer of approximately parallel first nanowires;
- a second layer of approximately parallel second nanowires that overlay the first nanowires in the first layer, wherein the first nanowires in the first layer are approximately perpendicular in orientation to the second nanowires in the second layer;
- and
- a phase-modulation layer disposed between the first and second nanowire layers, overlapping ones of the first and second nanowires to be electronically addressed to implement a selected effective refractive index pattern of one or more regions of the phase-modulation layer to cause corresponding ones of the one or more regions to refract a portion of an incident beam of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength in order to focus or diverge the incident beam, wherein the effective refractive index pattern of the one or more regions are annular regions.
A method for focusing or diverging electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength, the method comprising:
- determining an effective refractive index pattern of one or more regions of an optical device to focus or diverge an incident beam of electromagnetic radiation having the wavelength;
- selectively applying a first set of electronic signals to first nanowires in the first layer of nanowires of the optical device;
- selectively applying a second set of electronic signals to second nanowires in the second layer of nanowires of the optical device, the electronic signals to change the effective refractive indices of regions of the optical device in accordance with the pattern of regions;
- and
- transmitting the beam of the electromagnetic radiation having the wavelength into the optical device.
A system for refracting a beam of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength, the system comprising:
- a computing device including a processor and a memory;
- a dynamically reconfigurable optical device in communication with the computing device;
- and
- an electromagnetic radiation source positioned and configured to emit quasimonochromatic electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength into the optical device, wherein the processor is to determine an effective refractive index pattern of regions of the optical device to focus or diverge the beam, selectively apply a first set of electronic signals to nanowires in a first layer of nanowires of the optical device, and selectively apply a second set of electronic signals to nanowires in a second layer of nanowires of the optical device to change the effective refractive indices of regions of the optical device in accordance with the pattern of regions, wherein the regions in the effective refractive index pattern are annular regions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.