Thermo-optic control of dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide components

Abstract

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.

Spectral dependence of the magnetic modulation of surface plasmon polaritons in noble/ferromagnetic/noble metal films

“…Recent advances in SPP-based (plasmonic) systems, with a wide range of passive coupling and guiding elements demonstrated, show that they are one of the relevant candidates to achieve these nanophotonic circuits, [1][2][3][4] provided that the intrinsic loss of the system can be overcome by using appropriate gain strategies. 5 Furthermore, important progress has been made in the last years to achieve active plasmonic configurations, [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] i.e., plasmonic systems that could be externally manipulated, which is a critical step to really endow plasmonic systems with full capacity of development of nanophotonic chips as it will allow the realization of fundamental components such as modulators, switches or active multiplexors, couplers, and add-drop filters. Several external agents have been proposed so far to provide the controlled response of these active plasmonic systems: temperature, 6,7,14 voltage, 10,11,17,18 optical signals, 8,9,12,13 or magnetic field.…”

“…5 Furthermore, important progress has been made in the last years to achieve active plasmonic configurations, [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] i.e., plasmonic systems that could be externally manipulated, which is a critical step to really endow plasmonic systems with full capacity of development of nanophotonic chips as it will allow the realization of fundamental components such as modulators, switches or active multiplexors, couplers, and add-drop filters. Several external agents have been proposed so far to provide the controlled response of these active plasmonic systems: temperature, 6,7,14 voltage, 10,11,17,18 optical signals, 8,9,12,13 or magnetic field. 15,16 In all cases, the mechanism underlying the modification of the system's response is either the control of absorption 6,8,9,11,17 or the modification of the material refractive index and thus of the SPP wave vector 7,10,[14][15][16]18 (a combination of both in some specific cases 12,13 ).…”

“…Several external agents have been proposed so far to provide the controlled response of these active plasmonic systems: temperature, 6,7,14 voltage, 10,11,17,18 optical signals, 8,9,12,13 or magnetic field. 15,16 In all cases, the mechanism underlying the modification of the system's response is either the control of absorption 6,8,9,11,17 or the modification of the material refractive index and thus of the SPP wave vector 7,10,[14][15][16]18 (a combination of both in some specific cases 12,13 ). The use of magnetic field and associated magneto-optical (MO) effects as the driving agent can be of particular interest because of its flexibility.…”

Enhancement of the magnetic modulation of surface plasmon polaritons in Au/Co/Au films

“…1 Passive plasmonic circuits have been extensively proposed and analyzed in the last decade 2,3 but active plasmonic configurations are needed to achieve nanophotonic devices with advanced functionalities. This requires systems where the plasmon properties can be rapidly modulated by an external parameter, such as temperature, 4,5 voltage, 6,7 or electromagnetic radiation. [8][9][10] The magnetic field is another interesting candidate to control SPPs, since it is able to modify their dispersion relation.…”

Localized fields, global impact: Industrial applications of resonant plasmonic materials

“…72 Submicron-scale electro-optic modulators have also been demonstrated using the metal-insulator phase transition in vanadium oxide; 73 , 74 the ferroelectric transition in bismuth ferrite; 75 and the tunability of novel materials such as graphene, 76 , 77 nonlinear polymers, 78 and thermo-optic polymers. 79 In parallel, localized plasmon resonances have enabled coherent light generation in submicron structures, with on-chip footprints that are comparable to those of electronic devices. 80 -86 For example, thresholdless continuous-wave lasing has been achieved using nanoscale plasmonic coaxial cavities, 84 and ultrafast (800-fs) pulsed emission was observed from hybrid plasmon-semiconducting nanowire lasers.…”