Patents
US 11320584 B2: Deeply sub-wavelength all-dielectric waveguide design and method for making the same
- Granted
- 2022-05-03
- Filed
- 2020-05-08 application 16870185
- Type
- Utility · 29 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
Accelerating photonic and opto-electronic technologies requires breaking current limits of modern chip-scale photonic devices. While electronics and computer technologies have benefited from “Moore's Law” scaling, photonic technologies are conventionally limited in scale by the wavelength of light. Recent sub-wavelength optical devices use nanostructures and plasmonic devices but still face fundamental performance limitations arising from metal-induced optical losses and resonance-induced narrow optical bandwidths. The present disclosure instead confines and guides light at deeply sub-wavelength dimensions while preserving low-loss and broadband operation. The wave nature of light is used while employing metal-free (all-dielectric) nanostructure geometries which effectively “pinch” light into ultra-small active volumes, for potentially about 100-1000× reduction in energy consumption of active photonic components such as phase-shifters. The present disclosure could make possible all-optical and quantum computing devices which require extreme optical confinement to achieve efficient light-matter interactions.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg220503.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson University 122 patents | US company or organization | Clemson, SC | Clemson University State business registration EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state Clemson University College or university EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judson D. Ryckman | Clemson, SC | 12 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Nazmus Sakib | Clemson, SC | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| G02B | Optical elements, systems or apparatus | G02B6/107 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| B82B | Nanostructures formed by manipulation of individual atoms, molecules, or limited collections of atoms or molecules as discrete units; manufacture or treatment thereof | B82B3/0061 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| B82Y | Specific uses or applications of nanostructures; measurement or analysis of nanostructures; manufacture or treatment of nanostructures | B82Y10/00 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| G01S | Radio direction-finding; radio navigation; determining distance or velocity by use of radio waves; locating or presence-detecting by use of the reflection or reradiation of radio waves; analogous arrangements using other waves | G01S7/481 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| G06E | Optical computing devices | G06E1/00 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-06-30 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | SAKIB, NAZMUS signed 2019-05-14 RYCKMAN, JUDSON signed 2019-05-15 | CLEMSON UNIVERSITY CLEMSON, SC | 53083/59 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.