Binary beam steering device
US6985373B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 27, 2004 |
| Grant date | Jan 10, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 27, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F2203/24
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An element for steering electromagnetic beams. The element includes a phase change material in combination with dielectric and other layers in a multilayer optical stack. The phase change material that is reversibly transformable between two or more structural states, where different structural states differ with respect to refractive index and/or extinction coefficient. The structural state of the phase change material establishes a phase angle state for the element that dictates the direction of propagation of an output beam produced from an incident electromagnetic beam. Depending on the structural state, the element adopts one of two principal phase angle states and a binary beam steering capability is achieved in which an incident electromagnetic beam can be redirected in either of two directions. In a preferred embodiment, the output beam is a reflected beam and the element includes a phase change material sandwiched between two dielectric materials and supported by a metal layer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.