Precision Insights with Phonon-Based Temperature Measurement

Introduction

In today’s rapidly advancing fields like nanotechnology, electronics, and biotechnology, precision is everything. Devices and systems are shrinking, and with them, the ability to accurately measure, monitor, and regulate temperature at the nanoscale becomes increasingly essential. Our patented phonon-based temperature measurement technology offers a cutting-edge solution, allowing for unprecedented precision in tracking nanoscale temperatures.

Whether you’re working on next-gen semiconductor devices or cutting-edge biological research, the ability to monitor temperature at this level offers both enhanced performance and deeper insights. This breakthrough technology is designed to help industries that require extreme accuracy, ensuring that even the smallest changes in temperature are detected and managed.

Challenges in Nanoscale Temperature Monitoring

As devices become smaller and more complex, maintaining effective thermal management is crucial to avoid malfunction, degradation, or failure. Traditional temperature measurement methods often struggle to provide the accuracy needed for modern nanotechnology, especially when working at scales where even minor temperature fluctuations can affect performance.

In industries like electronics and biotech, heat generation and thermal conductivity must be managed carefully to maintain system integrity and performance. Without precise monitoring, it’s easy to miss these subtle but critical shifts, which can lead to inefficiencies, lower product lifespans, or outright system failures.

Why Choose Phonon-Based Temperature Measurement?

Our phonon-based temperature measurement system provides an elegant solution to these issues. By leveraging the phonon effect, this nanoscale technology measures temperature with remarkable precision, allowing for a deeper understanding of thermal behavior at the molecular level. This tool is invaluable for semiconductor development, where thermal efficiency is key to longevity and performance, as well as in biotechnology, where accurate temperature regulation can make or break delicate biological processes.

This technology is not only highly accurate but also adaptable. It can be applied across various industries to enhance thermal management, extend the lifespan of electronic devices, and improve product quality. With this patent, companies can stay ahead of the curve by adopting cutting-edge technology that elevates their thermal management and material characterization processes.

Key Benefits

Unmatched Precision: Provides highly accurate temperature measurement at the nanoscale.
Enhanced Performance: Ensures better thermal management in electronics, nanotech, and biotech applications.
Versatile Applications: Can be used across a variety of industries, from semiconductor development to biological research.
Cost-Efficient: Improves product performance and longevity, reducing operational costs over time.

Elevate Your Capabilities with Phonon-Based Measurement

Licensing this technology provides companies with a powerful tool for precision measurement, thermal management, and product innovation. Stay ahead in nanotechnology, electronics, and biotech with this groundbreaking solution for nanoscale temperature monitoring.

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Abstract
Claims

In some embodiments, phonon based temperature measuring apparatuses include a light source positioned to direct a light toward a prism-resonant cavity interface of an optical resonant cavity inducing an evanescent wave that is guided into the resonant cavity having surface phonon polariton properties; a detector positioned proximate the resonant cavity and configured to detect reflected light from the prism-resonant cavity interface; and a temperature calculator coupled with the detector and configured to determine evanescent light coupling to one or more phonon polariton modes from the resonant cavity, calculate a quality factor as a function of a frequency spectrum of at least one of the one or more phonon polariton modes, and determine a temperature of a dielectric material within the resonant cavity as a function of the quality factor.

What is claimed is:

1. A phonon based temperature measuring apparatus, comprising:

a light source positioned to direct a light toward a prism-resonant cavity interface of an optical resonant cavity inducing an evanescent wave that is guided into the resonant cavity having surface phonon polariton properties;

a detector positioned proximate the resonant cavity and configured to detect reflected light from the prism-resonant cavity interface; and

a temperature calculator operatively coupled to the detector and configured to determine evanescent light coupling to one or more phonon polariton modes from the resonant cavity, calculate a quality factor as a function of a frequency spectrum of at least one of the one or more phonon polariton modes, and determine a temperature of a dielectric material within the resonant cavity as a function of the quality factor.

2. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more ambient temperature measurement apparatuses operatively coupled to the temperature calculator and configured to provide ambient temperature data to the temperature calculator, wherein the temperature calculator is configured to calibrate temperature measurements as a function of the ambient temperature data.

3. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 2, wherein the temperature calculator is further configured to determine temperatures of dielectric material within each of one or more additional resonant cavities, and to calibrate temperature measurements as a function of the determined temperatures of the dielectric material within each of the one or more additional resonant cavities and the ambient temperature data.

4. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temperature calculator is further configured to determine temperatures of dielectric material within each of one or more additional resonant cavities, and to calibrate temperature measurements as a function of the determined temperatures of the dielectric material within each of the one or more additional resonant cavities.

5. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

the resonant cavity comprising:

a substrate having the surface phonon polariton properties;

opposing reflective walls extending from a substrate surface of the substrate, wherein each of the reflective walls comprises a reflective surface with the reflective surfaces being separated by a width of the resonant cavity and configured to retain the dielectric material within the resonant cavity.

6. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 5, wherein the substrate comprises silicon dioxide, and wherein the opposing walls comprise a chromium base secured to the substrate and gold extensions secured with and extending from the chromium base, wherein each of the gold extensions comprises one of the reflective surfaces.

7. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 5, wherein the reflective surfaces are gold secured relative to the substrate surface.

8. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 5, wherein the width of the resonant cavity is less than 2000 μm.

9. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source is configured to direct a p-polarized infrared light toward the prism-resonant cavity interface with an evanescent field injected into the resonant cavity; and

wherein the temperature calculator, in calculating the quality factor, is configured to calculate the quality factor as a function of the frequency spectrum of a surface phonon polariton mode response from the resonant cavity induced from the p-polarized infrared light.

10. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 9, wherein the temperature calculator, in determining the light coupling to the one or more phonon polariton modes from the resonant cavity, is configured to determine light coupling to at least a transverse optical (TO) surface phonon polariton mode and to calculate the quality factor as a function of frequency spectrum of the transverse optical surface phonon polariton mode.

11. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temperature calculator is configured to detect a light coupling to at least a transverse optical (TO) phonon polariton mode as a dip in a reflection spectra of a frequency pulse, evaluate the frequency pulse, and determine a full-width-half-maximum frequency range (Δω) and a dip minimum frequency (ω₀) of the frequency pulse, and calculate the quality factor as a function of a ratio of the dip in minimum frequency (ω₀) and the full-width-half-maximum frequency range (Δω).

12. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temperature calculator is configured to calculate the temperature (T) of the dielectric material as a function of the quality factor (Q) in accordance with:

Q=A(w ₀ CT)^−α

wherein A is a surface phonon-polariton resonant cavity specific constant, w₀defines a known optical path length at a known temperature, C is a constant over a predefined range of temperatures from a known equilibrium temperature, and a is a surface phonon-polariton resonant cavity specific scaling constant.

13. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temperature calculator in determining the temperature of the dielectric material within the resonant cavity as a function of the quality factor is configured to determine a change in temperature from a known equilibrium temperature.

14. A method of measuring nanoscale temperature, comprising:

directing light toward a prism-resonant cavity interface having surface phonon polariton properties;

detecting, in response to the light being directed toward the prism-resonant cavity interface, reflected light;

determining, from the detected reflected light, light coupling to one or more phonon polariton modes from the resonant cavity;

calculating a quality factor as a function of a frequency spectrum of at least one of the one or more phonon polariton modes; and

determining a temperature of a dielectric material within the resonant cavity as a function of the quality factor.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

obtaining temperature data corresponding to one or more ambient temperatures external to the resonant cavity;

calibrating the determined temperature of the dielectric material as a function of the temperature data corresponding to the one or more ambient temperatures.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining a quality factor corresponding to each of one or more additional resonant cavities formed on a substrate on which the resonant cavity is formed, wherein at least one of the one or more additional resonant cavities has a width different than a width of the resonant cavity;

wherein the temperature calculator is further configured to determine temperatures of a dielectric material within each of the one or more additional resonant cavities; and to calibrate the temperature measurements as a function of the determined temperature of the dielectric material within each of the one or more additional resonant cavities and the ambient temperature data.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining the light coupling to the one or more phonon polariton modes from the resonant cavity comprises determining light coupling to a transverse optical (TO) surface phonon polariton mode, and wherein the calculating the quality factor comprises calculating the quality factor as a function of a frequency spectrum of the transverse optical surface phonon polariton mode.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining the light coupling to the one or more phonon polariton modes comprises detecting the light coupling to transverse optical (TO) phonon modes as a dip in a reflection spectra of a frequency pulse; and

wherein the calculating the quality factor comprises:

determining a full-width-half-maximum frequency range (Δω) of the frequency pulse;

determining a dip minimum frequency (ω₀) of the frequency pulse; and

calculating the quality factor as a function of a ratio of the dip minimum frequency (ω₀) and the full-width-half-maximum frequency range (Δω).

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining the temperature (T) comprises calculating the temperature of the dielectric material as a function of the quality factor (Q) in accordance with:

Q=A(w ₀ CT)^−α

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

generating a p-polarized infrared light, wherein the directing the light into the cavity comprises directing the p-polarized infrared light into the cavity; and

wherein the calculating the quality factor comprises calculating the quality factor as a function of the frequency spectrum of the surface phonon polariton mode response from the resonant cavity induced from the p-polarized infrared light.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining the temperature of the dielectric material comprises determining a change in temperature from a known equilibrium temperature, wherein the change in temperature is less than about 1° C.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining the temperature of the dielectric material comprises determining a change in temperature from a known equilibrium temperature.

Title

Phonon effect based nanoscale temperature measurement

Inventor(s)

James S. Hammonds, Kimani A. Stancil

Assignee(s)

Howard University

Patent #

10520374

Patent Date

December 31, 2019