This technology is a precise and automated method for making photonic crystals with tunable resonant wavelengths.
Photonic crystal resonators are poised to advance telecommunications and catalyze the emerging field of optical devices and computing. Photonic crystal waveguides possess a range of optical properties that partially rely on precise local surface geometry, which makes them sensitive to nanoscale deviations. As such, there is a need for improved methods of manufacturing optical resonators to precisely control the resonant wavelengths.
This technology provides a method for achieving highly controlled tuning of the resonant wavelength of the photonic crystal. It further describes a manufacturing process that can determine the initial operating wavelength and precisely guide atomic layer deposition to achieve a photonic crystal waveguide with the desired operating wavelength. The repeated deposition of dielectric layers tunes the resonance and dispersion properties of the photonic crystal. Additionally, this technology is able to ascertain the intrinsic resonance of a given photonic crystal and prescribe the needed manufacturing process to achieve a desired wavelength.
A prototype of the technology has been developed and been shown to produce precise sub-nanometer tuning per layer deposited.
[Chee Wei Wong, Sc.D.]
Patent Issued (US 8,705,898)
IR M07-095
Licensing Contact: Greg Maskel