Resonantly enhanced photosensitivity

Abstract

A resonant enhanced photosensitive material includes a trap center that is adapted to interact with light and enhances the photosensitivity of the material based on a resonant interaction process with photons.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . Resonant enhanced photosensitive material which comprises 
 a trap center which is adapted to interact with light and enhances the photosensitivity of the material based on a resonant interaction process with photons.    
     
     
         2 . Resonant enhanced photosensitive material according to  claim 1  wherein said interaction with light is including a resonant multiphoton process.  
     
     
         3 . Resonant enhanced photosensitive material according to  claim 2  wherein said interaction with light comprises a resonant multiphoton intraband absorption process.  
     
     
         4 . Resonant enhanced material having trap centers 
 in which said trap centers comprise at least a member of the group consisting of dopants, preferably multivalent dopants, imperfections, structural artifacts, defects of bonds, lattice vacancies in ordered areas of the material, lattice defects in crystalline or quasi-crystalline areas of the material enhancing the photosensitivity of the material.    
     
     
         5 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 4  in which said dopant is a multivalent intraband dopant enhancing the photosensitivity of the material.  
     
     
         6 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 5  in which said multivalent dopant comprises a member of the group consisting of rare earth cations, Ce, Eu, Tm, Ho, Nb, Pr, Sm, Er, Dy, Tb, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         7 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 6  wherein said enhancement is assisted by an intraband trap center in the material which provides an electronic energetic state above the ground state and below the conduction band which can be occupied by electrons in the course of a photonic absorption process.  
     
     
         8 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 7  wherein said photonic absorption process is a multiphoton absorption process.  
     
     
         9 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 7  wherein said photonic absorption is a multiphoton absorption assisting in a transition of an electron from a ground state to an energetic intraband state and wherein a further photonic absorption assists in a transition from the electronic intraband state to the conduction band.  
     
     
         10 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 4  wherein said material comprises glass.  
     
     
         11 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 4  wherein said material comprises a glass ceramic material.  
     
     
         12 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 4  wherein said material comprises a ceramic material.  
     
     
         13 . Resonant enhanced material wherein said resonant enhancement of photosensitivity in said material is at least in part caused by the introduction of dopants that introduce real electronic states with energy above the ground state at a multiple n of the energy of individual photons in the light beam used to create the photosensitivity effect.  
     
     
         14 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 13  wherein said material comprises dopants in an amount of 0.0001 to 30 weight %.  
     
     
         15 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 13  wherein said material comprises dopants in an amount of 0.001 to 25 weight %.  
     
     
         16 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 13  wherein said dopants comprise a polyvalent species which generates within the composition of said resonant enhanced material stable electron-hole traps.  
     
     
         17 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 13  wherein said material comprises glass.  
     
     
         18 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 13  wherein said material comprises a glass ceramic material.  
     
     
         19 . Resonant enhanced material according to  claim 13  wherein said material comprises a ceramic material.  
     
     
         20 . Method of enhancing photosensitivity in a photosensitive material comprising 
 introducing of dopants into said material,    said dopants providing real electronic states with an energy above the ground state    said energy of said real electronic states being a multiple n of the energy of individual photons in the light beam used to create the photosensitivity effect where n is an integer with n>1.    
     
     
         21 . Method of enhancing photosensitivity in a photosensitive material according to  claim 20  wherein said dopants comprise a polyvalent species which generates within the composition of said resonant enhanced material stable electron-hole traps.  
     
     
         22 . Method of enhancing photosensitivity in a photosensitive material according to  claim 20  wherein said material comprises glass.  
     
     
         23 . Method of enhancing photosensitivity in a photosensitive material according to  claim 20  wherein said material comprises a glass ceramic material.  
     
     
         24 . Method of enhancing photosensitivity in a photosensitive material according to  claim 20  wherein said material comprises a ceramic material.  
     
     
         25 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material as defined in  claim 1  comprising 
 directing a first laser light beam into said material,  
 said first laser light beam providing photons interacting with trap centers in said material,  
 said interaction assisting a transition from a ground state to an energetic intraband state.  
 
     
     
         26 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 25  wherein said interaction comprises an absorption process.  
     
     
         27 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 25  wherein said interaction comprises a multiphoton absorption process.  
     
     
         28 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 25  wherein said first laser light beam comprises ultra violet light.  
     
     
         29 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 25  wherein said first laser light beam comprises fs laser light pulses.  
     
     
         30 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 25  wherein said first laser light beam comprises ps laser light pulses.  
     
     
         31 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 25 , further comprising 
 directing a second laser light beam into said material interacting in an overlapping area within said photosensitive material within at least a portion of said first laser light beam.    
     
     
         32 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 31  wherein said second laser light beam has a wavelength which is different from a wavelength from said first laser light beam.  
     
     
         33 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 31  wherein said wavelength of said first laser light beam is adapted to the energy of the transition from the energetic ground state to the energetic intraband state.  
     
     
         34 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 31  said wavelength of said second laser light beam is adapted to the energy of the transition from the energetic intraband state to the conduction band.  
     
     
         35 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 31  wherein said first and second laser light beams are adapted such that said first laser light beam increases the number of occupied intraband states and said second laser light beam increases the transitions from the intraband state to the conduction band.  
     
     
         36 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 31  wherein said intensity of said first laser light beam is related to the transition rate from the energetic ground state to the energetic intraband state.  
     
     
         37 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 31  wherein said intensity of said second laser light beam is related to the transition rate from the energetic intraband state to the conduction band.  
     
     
         38 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 31  wherein said first and said second laser light beam are focused in parallel into said material.  
     
     
         39 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 31  wherein said first and said second laser light beam are focused in an oblique angle into said material.  
     
     
         40 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 25  wherein an absorption of said material is changed by a multiphoton assisted absorption process.  
     
     
         41 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 31  wherein a refractive index of said material is changed based on a multiphoton assisted absorption process.  
     
     
         42 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 25  wherein said material comprises glass.  
     
     
         43 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 25  wherein said material comprises a glass ceramic material.  
     
     
         44 . Method of generating photonic interaction in a photosensitive material according  claim 25  wherein said material comprises a ceramic material.