Ultra-compact modulators based on novel CMOS-compatible plasmonic materials
Abstract
We propose several planar layouts of ultra-compact plasmonic waveguide modulators that utilize alternative CMOS-compatible materials. The modulation is efficiently achieved by tuning the carrier concentration in a transparent conducting oxide layer, thereby tuning the waveguide either in plasmonic resonance or off-resonance. Resonance significantly increases the absorption coefficient of the plasmonic waveguide, which enables larger modulation depth. We show that an extinction ratio of 86 dB/um can be achieved, allowing for a 3-dB modulation depth in less than one micron at the telecommunication wavelength. Our multilayer structures can potentially be integrated with existing plasmonic and photonic waveguides as well as novel semiconductor-based hybrid photonic/electronic circuits.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1308.3017,
title = {Ultra-compact modulators based on novel CMOS-compatible plasmonic materials},
author = {Viktoriia E. Babicheva and Nathaniel Kinsey and Gururaj V. Naik and Andrei V. Lavrinenko and Vladimir M. Shalaev and Alexandra Boltasseva},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1308.3017},
year = {2013}
}