Contactless Picking of Objects Using an Acoustic Gripper

Acoustic levitation forces can be used to manipulate small objects and liquids without mechanical contact or contamination. This work presents analytical models based on which concepts for the controlled insertion of objects into the acoustic field are developed. This is essential for the use of acoustic levitators as contactless robotic grippers. Three prototypes of such grippers are implemented and used to experimentally verify the lifting of objects into an acoustic pressure field. Lifting of high-density objects (ρ > 7 g/cm3) from acoustically transparent surfaces is demonstrated using a double-sided acoustic gripper that generates standing acoustic waves with dynamically adjustable acoustic power. A combination of multiple acoustic traps is used to lift lower density objects (ρ≤0.25g/cm3) from acoustically reflective surfaces using a single-sided arrangement. Furthermore, a method that uses standing acoustic waves and thin reflectors to lift medium-density objects (ρ≤1g/cm3) from acoustically reflective surfaces is presented. The provided results open up new possibilities for using acoustic levitation in robotic grippers, which has the potential to be applied in a variety of industrial use cases

Automated Insertion of Objects Into an Acoustic Robotic Gripper

Acoustic levitation forces can be used to manipulate small objects and liquid without mechanical contact or contamination. To use acoustic levitation for contactless robotic grippers, automated insertion of objects into the acoustic pressure field is necessary. This work presents analytical models based on which concepts for the controlled insertion of objects are developed. Two prototypes of acoustic grippers are implemented and used to experimentally verify the lifting of objects into the acoustic field. Using standing acoustic waves and by dynamically adjusting the acoustic power, the lifting of high-density objects (>7 g/cm3) from acoustically transparent surfaces is demonstrated. Moreover, a combination of different acoustic traps is used to lift lower-density objects from acoustically reflective surfaces. The provided results open up new possibilities for the implementation of acoustic levitation in robotic grippers, which have the potential to be used in a variety of industrial applications.ISSN:2504-390

Modeling Plasmonic Antennas for the Millimeterwave & THz Range

Plasmonic modulator antennas have been recently shown to be able to efficiently upmix millimeter and THz waves onto optical frequencies. In this article, we introduce a theory and equivalent circuit models for designing and optimizing plasmonic modulator antennas. The proposed model aims to improve the overall understanding of the experimentally found powerful antenna field enhancement (between the impinging field at the antenna and the field within the modulator). This enhancement has already been shown to be as high as 90'000 and allows to efficiently evaluate relevant figures of merit for antenna design and optimization. The effects of antenna design parameters are presented and discussed in detail. The accuracy of the suggested models is verified by rigorous numerical computation through field simulations. As a result, we propose optimized antenna structures and their parameters, and demonstrate their field enhancement capabilities.ISSN:1077-260XISSN:1558-454

Wideband Type-II GaInAsSb/InP Uni-Traveling Carrier Photodiodes for Near 300 Gbps Communications

We report the wideband performance of uniform Type-II GaInAsSb/InP UTC-PDs for optical data communications near 300 Gbps. A wide bandwidth of >110 GHz is achieved for a device area of 50 μm ² . In signal transmission measurements, the present UTC-PDs show a low Bit-Error Rate (BER) and a high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of more than 18 dB at data rates as high as 288 Gbps (96 GBd, PAM-8) without post-amplification electronics. The work demonstrates the suitability of GaInAsSb/InP UTC-PDs for optical data transmission at bit rates approaching 300 Gbps.ISSN:0733-8724ISSN:1558-221

200 Gbit/s Barium Titanate Modulator Using Weakly Guided Plasmonic Modes

A plasmonic Mach-Zehnder modulator based on thin-film barium titanate is introduced demonstrating line rates up to 200 Gbit/s. The structure enables low insertion loss and high optical power stability without a DC bias during operation

Supplementary document for Dual Sideband Receiver for Radio-over-Fiber - 6711289.pdf

Dual Sideband Receiver for Radio-over-Fibe

Enhanced Stability of Resonant Racetrack Plasmonic-Organic-Hybrid Modulators

A high-speed and compact plasmonic organic racetrack modulator is shown to be orders of magnitude more robust against operating condition changes compared to resonant modulators based on the plasma dispersion effect while maintaining thermal tunability. Stable operation at 80°C is shown with no degradation