Patent Application: US-201414532597-A

Abstract:
an embodiment according to the invention provides an optical filter that combines narrow spectral bandwidth and high rejection of out - of - band radiation with a wide acceptance angle . these filters are based on the nanoscale engineering of materials that possess predefined birefringence determined by a combination of their geometry and material composition . these metamaterials are combined into a functional optical filter that can exhibit true zero crossing , with acceptance angle effectively decoupled from bandwidth , at practically any wavelength of interest .

Description:
an embodiment according to the invention provides an optical filter with true zero crossing , thereby effectively decoupling acceptance angle from bandwidth . furthermore , an embodiment allows true zero crossing at the wavelength of choice , thereby enabling applications at practically any wavelength of interest . in addition , embodiments permit optical filters having compact designs with low form factors . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , an artificially engineered birefringent device combines two elements : a ) an anisotropically patterned material that provides “ form birefringence ,” which is defined by the geometry of the fabricated nanostructures and the optical properties of the material ; and b ) a material that has birefringence , here “ material birefringence ,” that is due to its structure at dimensions smaller than the patterning dimension of the form birefringence . for the “ form birefringence ” in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , the anisotropically patterned material is produced in a material that would otherwise be isotropic or would have natural birefringence that only weakly depends on the wavelength . for example , the anisotropically patterned material may be glass , fused , silica , sapphire , or any other largely transmissive material , including electrically conducting glasses such as indium tin oxide ( ito ). the patterning , achieved at dimensions that are ˜ 1 / 10 th of the wavelength ( i . e ., for example , at ˜ 50 nm for operation in the visible , although other wavelengths may be used ), provides the form birefringence . the pattern dimension of the anisotropically patterned array may , for example , be between about 20 nm and about 5 microns . as discussed further below , this form birefringence and the nanostructures that give rise to it can be designed deterministically using computational methods based those of reference 13 , i . richter , p .- c . sun , f . xu , and y . fainman , “ design considerations of form birefringent microstructures ,” applied optics vol . 34 , no . 14 , pp . 2421 - 2429 ( 1995 ), the teachings of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety . for the “ material birefringence ” in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , a material is used that has birefringence due to its structure at dimensions smaller than the form birefringence described above . using again the visible wavelengths as an example , this “ material birefringence ” exists on the scale of ˜ 1 - 10 nm . for example , the material birefringence may exist on a scale from between about 1 nm and about 10 nm , or from about 0 . 1 nm to about 10 nm , and in particular as low as about 0 . 3 nm . this material is intended to fill in some or all of the spaces patterned into the form birefringence . therefore , for ease of production , materials can be used such that there is a deposition or etching process to enable the fabrication of devices with both the form and material birefringence . examples of such materials are : a ) liquid crystals , which have a structural anisotropy on the scale of ˜ 1 - 5 nm , and which can be aligned by chemical surface treatment , surface nanostructuring , electric fields , etc . b ) photoalignable polymers , which have molecule - scale anisotropy and which can be aligned using polarized light . c ) nanowires , with diameters of 5 - 10 nm and lengths of 100 nm or more , especially if they are of high - index material , and which possess anisotropy by virtue of their geometry and polarizability ( reference 14 ). alignment may be achieved by surface nanostructuring , illumination , or fluidic means . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , liquid crystals may be used to provide the material birefringence . liquid crystals have two advantageous properties : 1 ) liquid crystals encompass a broad class of chemical formulations , enabling design and selection of compounds with specific desired birefringence and dispersion of birefringence , chemical stability , ease of processing , cost , and compatibility with the rest of the system . 2 ) there is a large body of knowledge and chemical infrastructure , which can support optimization of liquid crystals for this application . an optical filter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention provides : flexibility in the choice of the operating wavelength , in order to accommodate available laser wavelengths or transmission windows in the propagating media ; active tunability of the central wavelength ; a compact form factor that enables effective coupling to the detector ; and stability with respect to environmental factors such as temperature . an optical filter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention can be used as an optical filter at wavelengths from the deep ultraviolet to the far infrared , i . e ., at wavelengths from about 0 . 2 micron to about 50 microns , which includes , but is not limited to , both the visible and the infrared . as used herein , unless specified otherwise or by context , reference to “ light filtered by the optical filter ” includes wavelengths from about 0 . 2 micron to about 50 microns . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , the combination of form birefringence and material birefringence can be designed according to rules and computational models , such as using techniques based on references 13 and 15 as discussed further below , to achieve a total birefringence which makes the zero - crossing filter concept not only feasible but having additional desirable properties as listed above . this engineered birefringence is obtained because the form birefringence can be designed to enhance one or the other refractive index of the birefringent material , depending on the relative orientation of the nanostructured geometry and the intrinsically birefringent material . thus , even if the birefringent material does not have zero crossing — and most materials do not — the form birefringence can be designed in such a way as to bias one index more than the other , inducing an artificially designed zero crossing ( see , for example , zero crossing 307 of fig3 b , discussed further below ). furthermore , this biasing can be made wavelength - sensitive , so that the zero crossing occurs at a pre - determined wavelength . as long as the two indices of the birefringent material have different dispersions , i . e ., different dependences on wavelength , the form birefringence can be designed in such a way that the two indices of the overall device ( form plus material ) are equal to each other at a predetermined wavelength . for example , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , the form birefringence and the nanostructures that give rise to it can be designed deterministically using rules and computational methods based on those of reference 13 , i . richter , p .- c . sun , f . xu , and y . fainman , “ design considerations of form birefringent microstructures ,” applied optics vol . 34 , no . 14 , pp . 2421 - 2429 ( 1995 ), and reference 15 , a . emoto , m . nishi , m . okada , s . manabe , s . matsui , n . kawatsuki , and h . ono , “ form birefringence in intrinsic birefringent media possessing a subwavelength structure ,” applied optics vol . 49 , no . 23 , pp . 4355 - 4361 ( 2010 ), the teachings of both of which references are incorporated by reference in their entirety . in particular , alternating layers of two different materials may be used , such that the resulting optical properties of the resulting , bulk structure are suitable to act as an optical filter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the thickness of each layer is at least 5 to 10 times smaller than the wavelength of the light that passes through the material , so that effective medium theory ( emt ) applies . this theory is developed from averaging the values of the constituents that make up the composite material . first order emt is simply based on averaging the fractions of the two materials involved . the two equations used for this are listed as eq . ( 1 ) in reference 13 : where ε 1 and ε iii are the real dielectric constants of the region of incident material and substrate material of a high spatial frequency ( hsf ) grating , respectively ; f is the duty cycle ( filling factor ) of the grating , and ε 0 , e ⊥ k and ε 0 , e ∥ k are the zero order approximations of the effective dielectric constants of a single homogeneous anisotropic layer with the same thickness as the grating for te and tm polarizations , respectively , of a normally incident electromagnetic wave . second order emt extends the calculation to take into account a planar geometry , such as that of the embodiment of fig4 , below . the two equations used for this are listed as eq . ( 2 ) in reference 13 : where λ is the grating period , λ is the wavelength of the normally incident electromagnetic wave , and ε 2 , e ⊥ k and ε 2 , e ∥ k are the second order approximations of the effective dielectric constants of the single homogeneous anisotropic layer , with other symbols having the same meanings as in equation ( 1 ). these two models ( i . e ., first order and second order emt ) are combined to derive exactly how the thickness of each layer and the optical properties of each constituent material affect the resulting , macroscopic optical properties . this results in a set of four coupled equations that can be solved to determine the two indices of refraction of the resulting “ form birefringent ” material . it will be appreciated that other techniques may be used . fig3 a is a graph of the real and imaginary parts of the indices of refraction of a material used to provide “ material birefringence ” in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . here , the real and imaginary components are shown as n par 301 , n perp 302 , k par 303 and k perp 304 . in the particular embodiment illustrated in fig3 a , the second material is ptpt - 35 liquid crystal . fig3 b is a graph of the resulting filter birefringence of the device that includes the material of fig3 a , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the resulting filter effectively has two resulting indices of refraction , n x 305 and n y 306 . as can be seen in fig3 b , the two indices have independent wavelength - varying dispersion behavior , but have a zero crossing 307 at which the two indices of refraction are the same . although fig3 a and 3b show an example in which wavelengths from 200 nm to 600 nm are given , it should be appreciated that optical filters in accordance with an embodiment of the invention can in general be used as an optical filter over a wider range of wavelengths , from the deep ultraviolet to the far infrared , i . e ., at wavelengths from about 0 . 2 micron to about 50 microns . fig4 is a schematic diagram of an optical filter 410 comprising a planar geometry , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . in the embodiment of fig4 , the geometry of the nanostructured form birefringence is one dimensional , i . e ., parallel slabs 413 , 414 on a substrate 411 , fabricated into segments with the length of each segment being double that of the previous one , and the segments separated by built - in polarizers . the intrinsically birefringent material 414 , such as liquid crystal or photoalignable polymer , will be aligned by irradiation with linearly polarized light . this geometry is the most straightforward to conceptualize and fabricate , but the final optical performance is limited to filtering in one dimension only . the filter 410 includes a first material 413 , the dielectric spacer , that provides the “ form birefringence ,” and a second material 414 , the aligned birefringent films , that provides the “ material birefringence .” the incident beam is shown at 412 . the thickness of the layers of the first material 413 and the second material 414 may , for example , be on the order of 30 nanometers , although optical filters in accordance with an embodiment of the invention may in general be used over a wide range of wavelengths , i . e ., at wavelengths from about 0 . 2 micron to about 50 microns , and hence the layer thicknesses will vary accordingly . the overall width of the filter 410 may , for example , be on the order of 10 centimeters , while the overall height may , for example , be greater than about 1 micrometer . a higher overall height is preferable in order to receive as much incident beam as possible , but a greater height adds to expense of fabrication . the width may be determined by the technique of fabrication , for example by being equal to the width of a wafer from which the optical filter is fabricated . fig5 is a schematic diagram of an optical filter 520 comprising a concentric ring geometry , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the alternative design of fig5 provides for two - dimensional functionality by nanostructuring the form birefringence into arrays of concentric rings 521 . arrays with increasing lengths will be fabricated and then assembled one on top of the other , where again the segments are separated by suitable polarizers . in this configuration , the intrinsically birefringent material 522 , such as liquid crystal or photoalignable polymer , will be aligned by irradiation with a radially or azimuthally polarized beam . alignment can be performed , for example , by making the innermost and outermost layers of the concentric structure be electrodes , and applying an electric field between the electrodes . these arrays of concentric rings shown schematically in fig5 may be stacked to form a zero - crossing filter in two different arrangements : one is a lyot filter , where each segment is twice as long as the previous one and all optical axes are aligned to each other . the other is a solc filter ; in this case , the thickness of all segments is the same , but the optical axes of the segments are rotated at prescribed angles with respect to each other ( reference 8 ). it should be appreciated that , while the embodiments of fig4 and 5 are simplified and show only one segment , other components will also be present in a fully fabricated optical filter . for example , multiple segments having different lengths ( such as multiples of two times as long as previous segments ) and polarizers may also be present in the fully fabricated optical filter . in addition , it should be appreciated that each segment of a fabricated device can involve many alternating layers of the first material and the second material . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , based on the wavelength of the desired zero crossing , the necessary thickness of both the first material and the second material may be determined , for example using the computational techniques described above . in order to fabricate the device , one manufacturing technique comprises , first , patterning a naturally non - birefringent material to create “ form birefringence ,” and then , filling in gaps in the patterned material using a naturally birefringent material to create “ material birefringence ,” such as by using liquid crystal . alternatively , a material having “ material birefringence ” could be patterned first , and then gaps in that material could be filled in with a non - birefringent material . in one embodiment , in order to fabricate a concentric ring embodiment , a dielectric spacer is deposited onto a base substrate . for example , a spin - on glass process , a physical vapor deposition technique , an atomic layer deposition technique , evaporative sputtering , or a thin - film deposition technique may be used . once the dielectric is uniform , a pattern is formed in it to create the “ form birefringence .” for example , the pattern may be formed by electron lithography , or any nano - patterning technique ; for example , focused ion beam milling , nano - imprint lithography or photolithography may be used . etching may then be used to remove regions in which a material having “ material birefringence ,” such as liquid crystal , may be laid down . the material , such as liquid crystal , is then laid down , for example using spin - coating . the material , such as liquid crystal , is then aligned . the concentric ring embodiment should be formed with enough height to have sufficient interaction volume with light being filtered . in another embodiment , the concentric ring embodiment of fig5 may be fabricated by starting with a birefringent crystal material , then etching out areas desired for an isotropic spacer material , and then depositing the isotropic spacer material . the birefringent crystal material may , for example , be quartz , sapphire , a ferroelectric material , or barium titanate ( batio 3 ). liquid etchants may be used to etch along a crystalline axis . for example , hydrogen fluoride ( hf ) may be used to etch quartz . once the material is patterned , the liquid etching may be performed . in further embodiments , in order to fabricate a planar geometry device such as that of fig4 , a first layer is deposited onto a substrate , and then a second layer is deposited onto the first layer , where the depositions can use one or more of a spin - on glass process , a physical vapor deposition technique , an atomic layer deposition technique , evaporative sputtering , or a thin - film deposition technique . lithography may then be used to carve out the rectangular ( or other shape ) of the entire stack , and etching may be used to remove material where it is not desired ( such as to form the walls of the device ). then the material having “ material birefringence ” is aligned , for example using linearly polarized light . alternatively , the material could be aligned as it is deposited , one layer at a time . a concentric ring embodiment , such as that of fig5 , may have a larger aperture diameter — for example , a 12 inch aperture when fabricated on a 12 inch wafer — as compared with the planar embodiment of fig4 , in which the aperture may be on the narrow end of the stack . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , the material providing “ form birefringence ” may be any dielectric that is transparent ( loss is negligible ) at wavelengths of interest . for example , the material may comprise at least one of : glass , a transparent polymer , an insulating oxide , a transparent conducting oxide , a crystal and a salt . in particular , the first material may comprise at least one of : silicon oxide , silicon dioxide , quartz , magnesium fluoride , cadmium sulfide , indium tin oxide , indium zinc oxide , silicon nitride , aluminum oxide , sapphire , chalcogenide glass , silicon , germanium and silicon carbide . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , the material providing “ material birefringence ” may , for example , be any liquid crystal exhibiting birefringence at the wavelengths of interest , including , but not limited to , liquid crystal materials listed in the merck catalog , the entire teachings of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety , available at www . merck - chemicals . com / catalog , published by merck kgaa of darmstadt , germany . in particular , the following crystals may be used : 4 - cyano - 4 ′- pentylbiphenyl ( commonly known as 5cb ); ptpt - 35 ; licristal ® mda , zli and mlc series ( sold by merck kgaa of darmstadt , germany ); and azobenzene liquid crystals . in another embodiment according to the invention , a first material may be a dielectric used to create “ form birefringence ,” while a second material is a mixture of materials that become birefringent when assembled , to create the “ material birefringence .” see , for example , reference 14 , o . l . muskens , m . t . borgstrom , e . p . a . m . bakkers , and j . gomez rivas , “ giant optical birefringence in ensembles of semiconductor nanowires ,” applied physics letters vol . 89 , 233117 ( 2006 ), the teachings of which reference are incorporated by reference in their entirety . in embodiments according to the invention , an optical filter as taught herein may be implemented as an actively controlled optical filter or as a passive optical filter . for example , in order to implement an actively controlled optical filter , the material having “ material birefringence ” may be a material that permits a voltage to be applied to control the alignment of the material , as may be done , for example , with a liquid crystal . an actively controlled optical filter may , therefore , include an optical filter as taught herein , along with a control circuit configured to apply a control voltage to the material having material birefringence , thereby permitting the optical filter to transmit all wavelengths when the control voltage signals an “ off ” state , and to function as an optical filter when the control voltage signals an “ on ” state . such an actively controlled optical filter can , for example , be pulsed from an “ on ” state to an “ off ” state , or can be in an “ on ” state for certain predetermined time periods . alternatively , for a passive optical filter , an optical filter as taught herein may be implemented without such a control circuit , thereby operating only as an optical filter . in another embodiment according to the invention , an optical filter as taught herein may be configured to act as an optical filter in the infrared , for example by receiving light from a quantum cascade laser ( qcl ) device , or any other infrared laser . such an infrared optical filter may , for example , be located between an infrared laser and an optical sensor . while embodiments have been discussed herein in which a zero - crossing filter has been designed as a narrow - bandpass filter with wide angle of acceptance , it is also possible in accordance with an embodiment of the invention to create a functionally inverse device , which has near - zero dispersion but extremely high sensitivity to angle of incidence . such a device can have applications when placed near the focal plane of an imaging system , being able to separate incident beams coming from slightly different directions in object space . this is useful in astronomy as well as other imaging systems requiring spatial selection of an object from an axially displaced background . utilizing the angle - dependent transmission of samples has been an accepted procedure to map out the birefringence axes of sample crystals or macromolecules in a technique called “ conoscopy ,” in which an incident parallel beam is focused onto the focal plane through a microscope objective ( reference 16 ). in an embodiment according to the present invention , the functions may be inverted : the “ sample ” with engineered birefringence will act as an angle - sensitive filter , while the incoming light will have its angle determined by its remote spatial location . such an angle - sensitive filter can be engineered using form birefringence alone , or in combination with material birefringence , depending on desired spectral passband . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , optical filters with the performance properties described herein can provide new enabling capabilities to system performance in contexts such as underwater optical communication , ground to cloud communication , as well as optical imaging or tracking through turbulent media . embodiments may be used in high - performance optical systems and subsystems , from the deep ultraviolet to the far infrared . 1 . s . cianci , j . bland - hawthorn and j . o &# 39 ; byrne , “ designing ultra - narrowband interference filters ,” proceedings of spie vol . 5494 , pp . 520 - 528 ( 2004 ). 2 . o . aharon and i . abdulhalim , “ liquid crystal lyot tunable filter with extended free spectral range ,” optics express , vol . 17 , no . 14 , 11426 - 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