Electrically tunable extraordinary optical transmission gratings

We report a semiconductor based mechanism for electrically controlling the frequency of light transmitted through extraordinary optical transmission gratings. In doing so, we demonstrate active control over the surface plasmon (SP) resonance at the metal/dielectric interface. The gratings, designed to operate in the midinfrared spectral range, are fabricated upon a doped GaAs epilayer. Tuning of over 25cm−1 is achieved, and the devices are modeled to investigate the physical origin of the tuning mechanism. Though our structures are designed for the midinfrared, the tuning mechanism demonstrated could be applied to other wavelength ranges, especially the visible and near infrared.