Patent ID: 9146350
Filing Date: 2015-09-29
Classification: B82Y,G02B

Abstract:
1. An optical element comprising: a light guide body into which light from a light-emitting element enters; a carrier generation layer formed in the light guide body, in which carriers are generated by the light from the light guide body; a plasmon excitation layer stacked on the carrier generation layer, which has a plasma frequency higher than a frequency of light generated when the carrier generation layer is excited by the light from the light-emitting element; and an exit layer stacked on the plasmon excitation layer, which converts light incident from the plasmon excitation layer into light having a predetermined exit angle to output the light, wherein the plasmon excitation layer is sandwiched between two layers having dielectric properties, wherein a layer which is formed adjacently to a light-guide-body-side surface of the plasmon excitation layer, and another layer which is formed adjacently to an exit-layer-side surface of the plasmon excitation layer are the layers having dielectric properties, and wherein an effective dielectric constant of an incident side portion including a structure stacked on the light guide body side of the plasmon excitation layer is lower than that of an exit side portion including a structure stacked on the exit layer side of the plasmon excitation layer and a medium brought into contact with the exit layer.