System and method for optical filtering

Abstract

An optical device comprises a first grating and a second grating formed on or attached to a dielectric layer, and configured to simultaneously couple an optical field interacting therewith into two distinct Fano-Feshbach resonances.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An optical sensor, comprising:
 a quasiperiodic grating formed on or attached to a dielectric layer and configured to simultaneously couple an optical field interacting therewith into two distinct Fano-Feshbach resonances; and   an optical sensing element for sensing optical field exiting said quasiperiodic grating.   
     
     
         2 . The optical sensor according to  claim 1 , wherein said grating is a dielectric grating formed on said dielectric layer. 
     
     
         3 . The optical sensor according to  claim 1 , wherein said grating is a metallic grating formed on a metallic layer, and wherein said dielectric layer is disposed on said grating. 
     
     
         4 . The optical sensor according to  claim 3 , wherein said metallic layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, platinum, aluminum, copper, rhodium, iridium, tungsten and molybdenum. 
     
     
         5 . The optical sensor according to  claim 1 , wherein said grating is a chirped quasiperiodic grating. 
     
     
         6 . The optical sensor according to  claim 1 , wherein said dielectric layer comprises a dielectric material selected from the group consisting of sapphire, quartz, silicon, silicon carbide, gallium nitride, gallium phosphide, zirconium diboride, gallium arsenide, silica and glass. 
     
     
         7 . The optical sensor according to  claim 1 , wherein a thickness of said dielectric layer is from about 10 μm to about 1 mm. 
     
     
         8 . The optical sensor according to  claim 1 , wherein said grating is designed for a predetermined wavelength and wherein a thickness of said dielectric layer is at least two times said wavelength. 
     
     
         9 . The optical sensor according to  claim 1 , wherein said grating has a grove depth of from about 10 nm to about 100 nm. 
     
     
         10 . The optical sensor according to  claim 1 , further comprising an additional dielectric layer disposed on said grating. 
     
     
         11 . The optical sensor of  claim 1 , being a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor. 
     
     
         12 . The optical sensor according to  claim 1 , being installed as a component in a system selected from the group consisting of an imaging system, an optical spectrometer, an optical communication system, a slow-light optical system, a wavelength multiplexing system, a wavelength demultiplexing system, and an optical tuning system. 
     
     
         13 . An optical sensor array, comprising an array of optical sensors, each comprising the optical sensor of  claim 1 , wherein said optical sensors are arranged such that at least two sensing elements receive light from different grating patterns. 
     
     
         14 . A method of sensing an optical field, comprising directing the optical field to the optical sensor according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         15 . An optical sensor array, comprising an array of optical sensing elements, and a quasiperiodic grating disposed on said array, wherein a grating pattern of said quasiperiodic grating varies across said array such that at least two sensing elements receive light from different grating patterns, and wherein said quasiperiodic grating is formed on or attached to a dielectric layer and is configured to simultaneously couple an optical field interacting therewith into two distinct Fano-Feshbach resonances. 
     
     
         16 . The optical sensor array of  claim 15 , being a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor. 
     
     
         17 . The optical sensor array according to  claim 15 , being installed as a component in a system selected from the group consisting of an imaging system, an optical spectrometer, an optical communication system, a slow-light optical system, a wavelength multiplexing system, a wavelength demultiplexing system, and an optical tuning system. 
     
     
         18 . The optical sensor array according to  claim 15 , wherein said grating has a grove depth of from about 10 nm to about 100 nm. 
     
     
         19 . The optical sensor array according to  claim 15 , further comprising an additional dielectric layer disposed on said grating. 
     
     
         20 . A method of sensing an optical field, comprising directing the optical field to the optical sensor array according to  claim 15 .