Patent ID: 9341921
Filing Date: 2016-05-17
CPC Classification: G02F,H03M

Claim Text:
1. An analog-to-digital converter, comprising: an interferometer having an input and two arms comprised of a semiconductor material, wherein the input is configured to receive a carrier signal and each arm is configured to guide a spoofed surface plasmon polariton wave from one end of the arm to the free end of the arm, such that the spoofed surface plasmon polariton waves propagates at a speed slower than the carrier signal and are emitted from the free end of each arm into a propagation space and combine in the propagation space to form an interference wave; a modulator interfaced with the interferometer and operable to modulate the carrier signal in at least one of the two arms with a modulating signal, where the modulating signal has an amplitude in a predefined range of values and the radiation pattern of the interference wave in a far field of the propagation space is shifted in accordance with the amplitude of the modulating signal; and an array of detectors spatially separated from the interferometer by the propagation space and arranged to receive the interference wave.