University of Michigan

Roberto D Merlin

Roy Clarke

Anthony Grbic

Stephen B Fahy

Planar sub-wavelength structures provide superlensing, i.e., electromagnetic focusing beyond the diffraction limit. The planar structures use diffraction to force the input field to converge to a spot on the focal plane. The sub-wavelength patterned structures manipulate the output wave in such a manner as to form a sub-wavelength focus in the near field. In some examples, the sub-wavelength structures may be linear grating-like structures that can focus electromagnetic radiation to lines of arbitrarily small sub-wavelength dimension, or two dimensional grating-like structures and Bessel (azimuthally symmetric) structures that can focus to spots of arbitrarily small sub-wavelength dimensions. The particular pattern for the sub-wavelength structures may be derived from the desired focus. Some examples describe sub-wavelength structures that have been implemented to focus microwave radiation to sub-wavelength dimensions in the near field.

Apparatus for sub-wavelength near-field focusing of electromagnetic waves

Digital data is stored using optical means exclusively in a storage media which is characterized with a soft-phonon mode. Electric dipole domains in the storage medium are caused to reverse in polarity in response to the impinging thereon of an optical pulse. The optical pulse, which may be formed of a plurality of colliding optical pulses, must have sufficient energy to cause the reversal of the polarization of the electric dipole domain, or the reorientation thereof, without providing sufficient energy whereby the dipole reverts to its initial condition. Any material which exhibits structural phase transitions associated with soft-phonons which can couple directly or by non-linear processes to incident irradiation are candidates for optical domain-switching.

Data storage using pulsed optical domain reversal

A quasi-periodic sequence of a plurality of types of layers is produced by selecting successive subsequences of the layers in response to at least one prior subsequence of the layers and a predetermined substitution matrix. In one specific illustrative embodiment, the substitution matrix is such that each successive term of a series corresponds to a Fibonacci sequence. Quasi-periodic structures produced in accordance with the present invention are produced simply and inexpensively without the need for very stringent manufacturing tolerances and controls. Optical embodiments of the invention yield highly desirable characteristics with respect to incident radiation in the ranges of X-rays, ultaviolet, and visible light. Additionally, electrical devices having unusual electrical characteristics can be produced.

Growing community of inventors

Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

Roberto D Merlin