The spatial confinement of surface plasmon polaritons is a promising route for realizing optical on-board interconnects. However, mode losses increase with the confinement factor. To overcome this road block, we investigate propagation assisted by stimulated emission in a polymer strip-loaded plasmonic waveguide doped with nanocrystals. We achieve 27% increase of the propagation length at telecom wavelength corresponding to a 160 cm(-1) optical gain coefficient. Such a configuration is a step toward integrated plasmonic amplifiers.

The selective surface modification by phosphonic acids of SiO 2 -TiO 2 supports at the micrometer and molecular scale was investigated. Under aqueous conditions, phosphonic acids bind to TiO 2 and not to SiO 2 surfaces. A micropatterned support was prepared by electron beam microlithography and selectivity, of the surface modification was evidenced using scanning Auger electron spectroscopy (SAES). The second support was a mesoporous SiO 2 -TiO 2 mixed oxide (10 mol % Ti) epoxidation catalyst prepared by sol-gel processing. Selectivity was deduced from the decrease of the catalytic activity upon modification and from chemical analysis; bonding modes to the surface were investigated using solid-state 29 Si and 31 P MAS NMR. The possibility to introduce different organic groups by successive treatments with a phosphonic acid and a silylating agent was illustrated in the case of the mixed oxide.

We report preliminary results on the development of compact (length < 100 microm) fiber-coupled dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide components, including Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs), waveguide-ring resonators (WRRs) and directional couplers (DCs), whose operation at telecom wavelengths is controlled via the thermo-optic effect by electrically heating the gold stripes of dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides. Strong output modulation (> 20%) is demonstrated with MZI- and WRR-based components, and efficient (approximately 30%) rerouting is achieved with DC switches.