We report design, fabrication, and characterization of thermo-optic Mach–Zender interferometric modulators and directional-coupler switches whose operation utilizes the long-range surface-plasmon-polariton waveguiding along 15-nm-thin and 8-μm-wide gold stripes embedded in polymer and heated by electrical signal currents. The devices are characterized at the light wavelength of 1.55 μm, featuring low driving powers (<10mW for modulators and <100mW for switches), high extinction ratios (>30dB), moderate response times (∼1ms), and the total (fiber-to-fiber) insertion loss of ∼13dB (for modulators) and ∼11dB (for switches) when using single-mode fibers.

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We report measurements of ultralong coherence in self-assembled quantum dots. Transient four-wave mixing experiments at 5 K show an average dephasing time of 372 ps, corresponding to a homogeneous linewidth of 3.5 microeV, which is significantly smaller than the linewidth observed in single-dot luminescence. Time-resolved luminescence measurements show a lifetime of the dot ground state of 800 ps, demonstrating the presence of pure dephasing at finite temperature. The homogeneous width is lifetime limited only at temperatures approaching 0 K.

Plasmonics - the study of the interaction between electromagnetic waves and electron plasmas on metal surfaces and in metallic nanostructures - has received much attention in recent years, with potential new applications ranging from subwavelength photonic circuits to photothermal cancer therapy. In many cases, however, the substantial attenuation of the electromagnetic wave due to absorption (ohmic loss) in the metal is of serious concern. Introduction of optical gain into the dielectric material adjacent to the metal surface has been identified as a means of compensating for the absorption loss, but the experimental realization of lossless propagation or optical gain in plasmonic waveguides has proven elusive. Here, we demonstrate direct proof of plasmonic propagation with net positive gain over macroscopic distances. The gain is provided by an optically pumped layer of fluorescent conjugated polymer adjacent to the metal surface in a dielectric-metal-dielectric plasmonic waveguide