The present invention relates to an electrically tunable photonic resonator device for a component having a fast and flat actuation response. The photonic resonator device includes at least one optical waveguide with an optical interface for coupling in laser light. The photonic resonator device includes at least one optical resonator including a waveguide made of an optical resonator material. A laser light coupled via the optical waveguide is coupled into at least one optical resonator. The photonic resonator device includes at least one piezo actuator to apply mechanical stress onto the optical resonator. The optical resonator, the piezo actuator, and the optical waveguide are monolithically integrated on a common substrate of the photonic resonator device. The photonic resonator device includes a mechanical mode suppression means configured to attenuate one or more mechanical modes of oscillation caused by an AC operation of the piezo actuator.

Apparatus and method for high-power multi-function millimeter-wavelength (THz-frequency) signal generation using OPO and DFG in a single cavity. In some embodiments, the OPO-DFG cavity includes an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) non-linear material that receives pump light I.sub.P having pump-light frequency and generates two different lower intermediate frequencies of lightan OPO-signal beam I.sub.S and a spatially/temporally overlapping OPO-idler beam I.sub.I. A difference-frequency generator non-linear material then receives the two intermediate-frequency beams I.sub.I and I.sub.S, and the DFG then generates a THz-frequency output signal that has a frequency equal to the difference between the two intermediate frequencies. In some embodiments, a single-piece crystal of non-linear material is used for both OPO and DFG functions. Some embodiments use a bow-tie ring having four mirrors that define the optical path: an I.sub.P-beam-entry mirror, an I.sub.P-light-extraction mirror to remove unconverted I.sub.P-beam, an I.sub.I-beam-extraction mirror, and an I.sub.S-beam-extraction mirror, and a fifth I.sub.THz-beam-extraction mirror.

The present invention relates generally to optical materials and applications of optical materials and, more particularly, to optical materials incorporating particles such as nanoparticles, methods of forming such materials, and applications of such materials in various devices, for example, for filters, displays, coatings for glare reduction, and the like. The present invention can provide control over fabrication dimensions at very small scale, for example, at the molecular scale rather than at a macroscopic scale. The invention also involves, in some cases, controlling the interaction of many wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation with these materials. The optical materials and devices of the invention may be constructed and arranged for a response to, control of, and/or interaction with essentially any electromagnetic radiation, electric field, and/or magnetic field.

The instant disclosure is directed toward integrated-optics-based composite phase controllers that include at least one thermo-optic (TO) phase controller and at least one stress-optic (SO) phase controller, each of which is configured to affect the phase, or other propagation characteristic, of a light signal travelling through a surface waveguide. The SO phase controller can induce a small phase change quickly, while the TO phase controller can slowly induce a larger phase change. Embodiments are particularly well suited for use in waveguide-based resonant elements, such as ring resonators, spectral filters, and the like. Furthermore, photonic systems comprising one or more composite phase controllers can be developed, such as wavelength-tunable lasers for applications such as LiDAR, chemical/biological sensing, medical diagnostics, and optical communications.

There is described an optical apparatus having an optical fiber link propagating an optical signal; a first device coupled with a first fiber portion of the link and configured for imparting a phase changing contribution thereto; and a second device coupled with a second fiber portion of the link and configured for imparting a phase changing contribution thereto, the second device operating within a second response frequency range having a maximum value greater than a maximum value of a first response frequency range of the first device; wherein, upon the optical signal experiencing a phase change including a frequency value greater than the first response frequency range, the first device imparts a first phase change at a first response frequency value within the first response frequency range, and the second device imparts a second phase change at a second response frequency value greater than the first response frequency range.

An optical device includes variable optical material that alters at least one of: incident ambient light, spectral content of incident ambient light or direction of incident ambient light through the optical device in response to a stimulus provided by the device. The device can sense intensity and/or spectral characteristics of ambient light and provide appropriate stimulus to various portions of the optical device to activate the variable optical material and alter at least one of: incident ambient light, spectral content of incident ambient light or direction of incident ambient light.

Apparatus and method for high-power multi-function millimeter-wavelength (THz-frequency) signal generation using OPO and DFG in a single cavity. In some embodiments, the OPO-DFG cavity includes an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) non-linear material that receives pump light I.sub.P having pump-light frequency and generates two different lower intermediate frequencies of lightan OPO-signal beam I.sub.S and a spatially/temporally overlapping OPO-idler beam I.sub.I. A difference-frequency generator non-linear material then receives the two intermediate-frequency beams I.sub.I and I.sub.S, and the DFG then generates a THz-frequency output signal that has a frequency equal to the difference between the two intermediate frequencies. In some embodiments, a single-piece crystal of non-linear material is used for both OPO and DFG functions. Some embodiments use a bow-tie ring having four mirrors that define the optical path: an I.sub.P-beam-entry mirror, an I.sub.P-light-extraction mirror to remove unconverted I.sub.P-beam, an I.sub.I-beam-extraction mirror, and an I.sub.S-beam-extraction mirror, and a fifth I.sub.THz-beam-extraction mirror.

A strain sensor with color emission indicating a strain is disclosed. The strain sensor can include a piezoresistive layer having a first portion of a polymer matrix body and conductive fillers dispersed in the first portion of the polymer matrix body, a mechano-luminescent layer having a second portion, which is disposed on the first portion, of the polymer matrix body, green emissive particles, and red emissive particles, the green and red emissive particles being dispersed in the second portion of the polymer matrix body, and a first and second electrodes spaced apart from each other and directly connected to the piezoresistive layer.

A variable-color region (106) of an information-presentation structure extends to an exposed surface (102) at a surface zone (112) and normally appears along it as a principal color. An impact-dependent portion (138) of the variable-color region responds to an object (104) impacting the zone at an object-contact area (116) by temporarily appearing along a print area (118) of the zone as changed color materially different from the principal color if the impact meets threshold impact criteria. The print area closely matches the object-contact area in size, shape, and location. An image-generating controller (806) responds to the impact by causing an image-generating structure (804) to generate an image of the print area and adjacent surface extending to at least a selected location of the exposed surface if the threshold impact criteria are met. The image assists in determining how close the impact occurred to the selected surface location.

An optical modulator (12) for speckle suppression in a laser projection system includes a first planar transparent conductor (20); a second optionally transparent planar conductor (26); a diffusing element (22) disposed between the first and second conductor; and an alternating voltage applied across the first and second conductors creates in-plane movement or distortion in the diffusing element to reduce laser speckle.