Design optimization and fabrication of Mach- Zehnder interferometer based on MIM plasmonic waveguides.

We proposed and designed a compact unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on metal/insulator/metal (MIM) plasmonic waveguides for ultrafast optical signal processing. The MZI was fabricated by a lithography technique and we provide, for the first time experimental evaluation of the transmission performance of the MZI using MIM PWGs. The experimental results were in good agreement with the numerical simulations. The proposed structure could be considered as a key device for on-chip optical integrated circuits.

[1]  David Hillerkuss,et al.  All-plasmonic Mach–Zehnder modulator enabling optical high-speed communication at the microscale , 2015, Nature Photonics.

[2]  Dmitri K. Gramotnev,et al.  Adiabatic and nonadiabatic nanofocusing of plasmons by tapered gap plasmon waveguides , 2006 .

[3]  M. Majewski,et al.  Optical properties of metallic films for vertical-cavity optoelectronic devices. , 1998, Applied optics.

[4]  Liu Liu,et al.  Ultra-compact directional couplers and Mach–Zehnder interferometers employing surface plasmon polaritons , 2006 .

[5]  Shiyang Zhu,et al.  Phase modulation in horizontal metal-insulator-silicon-insulator-metal plasmonic waveguides. , 2013, Optics express.

[6]  J. D. Zook,et al.  TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE AND MODEL OF THE ELECTRO‐OPTIC EFFECT IN LiNbO3 , 1967 .

[7]  Viktoriia E. Babicheva,et al.  Plasmonic modulator optimized by patterning of active layer and tuning permittivity , 2012, 1202.6559.

[8]  Vladimir M. Shalaev,et al.  Examining nanophotonics for integrated hybrid systems: a review of plasmonic interconnects and modulators using traditional and alternative materials [Invited] , 2015 .

[9]  Sailing He,et al.  Novel surface plasmon waveguide for high integration. , 2005, Optics express.

[10]  Raluca Dinu,et al.  High-speed plasmonic phase modulators , 2014, Nature Photonics.

[11]  Ram Prakash Dwivedi,et al.  Plasmonic modulator utilizing three parallel metal–dielectric–metal waveguide directional coupler and elasto-optic effects , 2011 .

[12]  Vladimir M Shalaev,et al.  The Case for Plasmonics , 2010, Science.

[13]  Xing-Chang Wei,et al.  Electrical detection of plasmonic waves using an ultra-compact structure via a nanocavity. , 2009, Optics express.

[14]  Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi,et al.  Performance of thermo-optic components based on dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides , 2013, Scientific Reports.

[15]  D. Hillerkuss,et al.  108 Gbit/s Plasmonic Mach–Zehnder Modulator with > 70-GHz Electrical Bandwidth , 2016, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[16]  D. Pile,et al.  Two-dimensionally localized modes of a nanoscale gap plasmon waveguide , 2005 .

[17]  C. Min,et al.  Theoretical investigation of fabrication-related disorders on the properties of subwavelength metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic waveguides. , 2010, Optics express.

[18]  T. Ebbesen,et al.  Channel plasmon subwavelength waveguide components including interferometers and ring resonators , 2006, Nature.

[19]  Shanhui Fan,et al.  Bends and splitters in metal-dielectric-metal subwavelength plasmonic waveguides , 2005 .

[20]  Zongfu Yu,et al.  Metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic waveguide devices for manipulating light at the nanoscale , 2009 .

[21]  Kwang Soo Kim,et al.  Wavelength-dependent transmission through sharp 90 degrees bends in sub-wavelength metallic slot waveguides. , 2010, Optics express.

[22]  A. Y. Elezzabi,et al.  Experimental realization of subwavelength plasmonic slot waveguides on a silicon platform. , 2010, Optics letters.

[23]  Viktoriia E. Babicheva,et al.  Bismuth ferrite as low-loss switchable material for plasmonic waveguide modulator. , 2014, Optics express.

[24]  C. Koos,et al.  Plasmonic-organic hybrid (POH) modulators for OOK and BPSK signaling at 40 Gbit/s , 2015, 2015 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO).

[25]  K. Yee.  Numerical solution of initial boundary value problems involving maxwell's equations in isotropic media , 1966 .

[26]  Toshihiro Okamoto,et al.  Characteristics of gap plasmon waveguide with stub structures. , 2008, Optics express.

[27]  Changtao Wang,et al.  Directional coupler and nonlinear Mach-Zehnder interferometer based on metal-insulator-metal plasmonic waveguide. , 2010, Optics express.