GLASS PHOTONIC CRYSTAL BAND-GAP DEVICES WITH POLARIZING PROPERTIES

摘要

The invention is directed to polarizing devices that can be scaled to polarize electromagnetic radiation having wavelengths in ultraviolet to microwave range; and more particularly to devices suitable for use at visible and IR wavelengths. The device has a length, a width and a thickness, and a patterned system of channels, voids or holes embedded in or through a glass matrix and running through the thickness of the glass to thereby polarize incoming electromagnetic radiation having two polarization modes orthogonal to one another, blocking the passage of or reflecting one mode and permitting the other mode to pass through the device. The glass can be any glass suitable for transmitting the electromagnetic radiation in the range it will be used without excessive transmission losses due to absorbance of radiation in that range by moieties present in the glass. In one aspect, the device according to the invention may be deemed a "universal" polarizer: in the sense that it can be made to work in wavelength ranges from the microwave to the ultraviolet. The devices can also be made of polymeric materials utilizing the principles enumerated in the specification.