Nanoscale Optical Antenna

Group 2

Ashley Dean, Mistica Phillips, Janice Secrest, and Clayton Williams

Keywords: Optical antenna, photolithography, terabyte

 

Optical antennas are device added on to a laser to concentrate light onto a smaller surface than what is currently available.  There are a few different researchers developing models of the optical antenna to find its many uses.  As of now the antenna is thought  not only to be able to concentrate light onto smaller surfaces, but also to store more data on DVD-like disks than we are able to store now.  Impact upon technology based companies will be great and will allow for more advances in data storage and the detection of radio frequencies to super-high resolution microscopes..

 

The optical antenna is built by adding a layer of insulation onto the light-emitting edge of a laser, and then adding a layer of gold.  The gold is then cut down into two small triangles which form the antenna.  When the light hits the gold rectangles an electrical field forms. This will concentrate the lasers light onto a surface smaller than that of one wavelength of light.

 

This device was developed by Professor Roger Green and Roberto Ramirez-Iniguez, at the University of Warwick.  They are using the Optical Antenna to select signal frequencies carried by infrared beams that will produce the optical equivalent of the radio.  The optical antenna can detect a signal on one wavelength of light.

 

Kenneth Crozier and Federico Cappasso have found that by adding optical antennas to a commercial laser, they can focus light onto one-twentieth of the lights wavelength.  Being able to focus this light onto such a small surface allows for more storage of data.  These optical antennas developed by Crozier and Cappasso, make it possible to store 3.6 terabytes of data on a DVD like disk compared to today’s  4.7 gigabyte recordable DVDs.   Their optical antennas can be used for storage of large amounts of data in a confined space to super-high resolution microscopes.

 

The optical antenna is important because it allows for more data storage on the same amount of space as we us today.  Not only are optical antennas cheaper to make and easier to use, they allow for more advances in the business world.  The optical antenna creates nano-size etchings which means smaller chips can be made and used at a lower cost.  With today’s etching technology being expensive, it creates a low cost opportunity for those companies dedicated to making storage disks and microscopes.  Also, the optical antenna is added to a laser which can cost as low as $50, compared to a large, expensive machine.  These large machines are not able to mass produce like the optical antenna is set up for.

 

Another use for the optical antenna is photolithography.  This process is currently expensive and uses a large machine, which produces silicon chips.  Before being used for lithography, the antennas must be tailored to the size of the wavelength of light they intend to focus on.

 

The development of optical antennas opens new chances for storage.  Companies like Seagate and Hitachi Global are teaming up their storage devices with different types of lasers which produce different wavelengths of light.  Optical antennas differ from other antennas because it can be added to any off the self laser and still produce the same results.

 

Optical antennas are being designed to help researchers who are trying to make high capacity DVDs and more powerful, cheaper computer chips.  Using optical antennas researchers are able to break the diffraction limit cheaply, that has stopped researchers in the past.

 

By using these DVD-like storage devices created using optical antennas, businesses can save company space and money. These devices make it possible for numerous files to be stored on one medium. This allows for accuracy in recordkeeping, space, and cost. Storage devices today store only a minute amount compared to what these DVD-like storage devices could hold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Bourzac, Katherine. (2007, March). TR10: A New Focus for Light. Technology Review published by MIT. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18295/?a=f.

Schewe, Phil, Ben Stein, and Davide Castelvecchi. (2006, September). Laser Optical Antennas. The AIP Bulletin of Physics News, 791(1). Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://www.aip.org/pnu/2006/split/791-1.html.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions about Nanoscale Optical Antennas (Group 2)

 

  1. The two engineers who developed a new process which added storage to DVD’s were:
  1. Simon and Simon
  2. Crozier and Capasso
  3. Gates and DeVinci
  4. None of the above.

 

 

  1. The main reason the process works is due to the fact that a layer of _________ is added to the laser?
  1. Gold
  2. Silver;
  3. Copper
  4. None of the above.

 

  1. When light from laser strikes the rectangles, the antenna then has _________?
  1. Been completed
  2. Lighting-rod effect
  3. Started the process
  4. All of the above

 

  1. This new process is_____________?
  1. Complicated
  2. Cheaper
  3. Expensive
  4. None of the above.

 

  1. The process created by the Harvard University electrical engineers is called?
  1. Life saving
  2. Optical antennas
  3. Inadequate
  4. All of the above.

 

  1. The optical antennas are created with _____?
  1. Commonly used CD
  2. Tapes
  3. Records
  4. None of the above.

 

  1. The optical antennas could have far-reaching and unpredictable implications such as _______.
  1. Optical storage and super high resolution optical microscopes
  2. Spying on the enemy
  3. World peace
  4. None of the above.