10 Gb/s transmission and thermo-optic resonance tuning in silicon-plasmonic waveguide platform
The first system-level experimental results of hybrid Si-DLSPP structures incorporated into a SOI chip are reported. We demonstrate over 7nm thermo-optical tuning of a Si-Plasmonic racetrack-resonator and verify error-free 10Gb/s transmission through 60um Si-Plasmonic waveguide.
Active Plasmonics in True Data Traffic Applications: Thermo-Optic On/Off Gating Using a Silicon-Plasmonic Asymmetric MachZehnder Interferometer
We present the first system-level demonstration of an active plasmonic device in 10-Gb/s data traffic conditions. An asymmetric silicon-plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometer with dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides serving as the electrically controlled arms, operates as thermo-optic ON/OFF gating element with 2.8-mu s response time and 10.8-mW power consumption. We present the first system-level demonstration of an active plasmonic device in 10-Gb/s data traffic conditions. An asymmetric silicon-plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometer with dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides serving as the electrically controlled arms, operates as thermo-optic ON/OFF gating element with 2.8-mu s respon…
Power monitoring in dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides
We report on propagating mode power monitoring in dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides (DLSPPWs) by measuring the resistance of gold stripes supporting the DLSPPW mode propagation. Inevitable absorption of the DLSPPW mode in metal causes an increase in the stripe temperature and, thereby, in its resistance whose variations are monitored with an external Wheatstone bridge being accurately balanced in the absence of radiation in a waveguide. The investigated waveguide configuration consists of a 1-µm-thick and 10-µm-wide polymer ridges tapered laterally to a 1-µm-wide ridge placed on a 50-nm-thin and 4-µm-wide gold stripe, all supported by a magnesium fluoride substrate. Usi…
Active plasmonics in WDM traffic switching applications
With metal stripes being intrinsic components of plasmonic waveguides, plasmonics provides a "naturally" energy-efficient platform for merging broadband optical links with intelligent electronic processing, instigating a great promise for low-power and small-footprint active functional circuitry. The first active Dielectric-Loaded Surface Plasmon Polariton (DLSPP) thermo-optic (TO) switches with successful performance in single-channel 10 Gb/s data traffic environments have led the inroad towards bringing low-power active plasmonics in practical traffic applications. In this article, we introduce active plasmonics into Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) switching applications, using the …
0.48Tb/s (12x40Gb/s) WDM transmission and high-quality thermo-optic switching in dielectric loaded plasmonics
We demonstrate Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM)-enabled transmission of 480Gb/s aggregate data traffic (12x40Gb/s) as well as high-quality 1x2 thermo-optic tuning in Dielectric-Loaded Surface Plasmon Polariton Waveguides (DLSPPWs). The WDM transmission characteristics have been verified through BER measurements by exploiting the heterointegration of a 60 mu m-long straight DLSPPW on a Silicon-on-Insulator waveguide platform, showing error-free performance for six out of the twelve channels. High-quality thermo-optic tuning has been achieved by utilizing Cycloaliphatic-Acrylate-Polymer as an efficient thermo-optic polymer loading employed in a dual-resonator DLSPPW switching structure, …
Active components for integrated plasmonic circuits
International audience; We present a comprehensive study of highly efficient and compact passive and active components for integrated plasmonic circuit based on dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides.
Thermo-optic control of dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide components
International audience; We report preliminary results on the development of compact (length 20%) is demonstrated with MZI-and WRR-based components, and efficient (similar to 30%) rerouting is achieved with DC switches. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America
Dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides at telecommunication wavelengths: Excitation and characterization
International audience; The excitation and propagation of strongly confined surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) waveguide modes, supported by 500-nm-wide and 550-nm-high dielectric ridges fabricated on smooth gold films, are investigated at telecommunication wavelengths using a scanning near-field optical microscope. Different tapering structures for coupling of SPPs, excited at bare gold surfaces, into dielectric-loaded SPP waveguide (DLSPPW) modes are considered. The DLSPPW mode confinement and propagation loss are characterized. The DLSPPW mode propagation along an S bend having the smallest curvature radius of 2.48 mu m is shown, demonstrating the potential of DLSPPW technology for the real…
Efficient unidirectional nanoslit couplers for surface plasmons
5 pages, 4 figures.
Bend- and splitting loss of dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides.
International audience; The design, fabrication, characterization, and modeling of basic building blocks of plasmonic circuitry based on dielectric- loaded surface polariton waveguides, such as bends, splitters, and Mach- Zehnder interferometers are presented. The plasmonic components are realized by depositing subwavelength dielectric ridges on a smooth gold film using mass-production- compatible UV-photolithography. The near-field characterization at telecommunication wavelengths shows the strong mode confinement and low radiation and bend losses. The performance of the devices is found in good agreement with results obtained by full vectorial three-dimensional finite element simulations.…
Efficient thermo-optically controlled Mach-Zhender interferometers using dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides
Compact fiber-coupled dielectric-loaded plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometers operating at telecom wavelengths and controlled via the thermo-optic effect are reported. Two fabricated structures with Cytop substrate and a ridge made of PMMA or a cycloaliphatic acrylate polymer (CAP) were considered showing low switching power of 2.35 mW and switching time in the range of microseconds for a CAP ridge and milliseconds switching time for a PMMA ridge. Full output modulation is demonstrated for the structure with a CAP ridge and 40% modulation with a PMMA ridge. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America Compact fiber-coupled dielectric-loaded plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometers operating at teleco…
Fiber-coupled dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides.
Fiber in- and out-coupling of radiation guided by dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides (DLSPPWs) is realized using intermediate tapered dielectric waveguides. The waveguide structures fabricated by large-scale UV-lithography consist of 1-microm-thick polymer ridges tapered from 10-microm-wide ridges deposited directly on a magnesium fluoride substrate to 1-microm-wide ridges placed on a 50-nm-thick and 100-microm-wide gold stripe. Using fiber-to-fiber transmission measurements at telecom wavelengths, the performance of straight and bent DLSPPWs is characterized demonstrating the overall insertion loss below 24 dB, half of which is attributed to the DLSPPW loss of propagati…
Thermo-optic control of dielectric-loaded plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometers and directional coupler switches
We report detailed experimental studies of compact fiber-coupled dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide components-Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) and directional couplers (DCs)-whose operation at telecom wavelengths is controlled via the thermo-optic effect by electrically heating the gold stripe of dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides. The effect of the gaps isolating the heated part of the waveguide from the rest of the structure was examined showing the presence of a Fabry-Perot cavity in this MZI arm. Wavelength-dependent modulation is demonstrated with MZI-based components, and wavelength dependent low power (similar to 0.92 mW) rerouting is achieved with DC switches. Furthermore…
Influence of the filling factor on the spectral properties of plasmonic crystals
Plasmonics crystals (PCs) comprised of finite-size triangular lattices of gold bumps deposited on a gold thin film are studied by means of a near-field optical microscope. The plasmonic crystals fabricated by electron-beam lithography are illuminated by an incident surface plasmon polariton excited in the Kretschmann-Raether configuration at the gold/air thin-film interface for incident free-space wavelengths in the range $740--820\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nm}$. Based on the measurement of the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) damping distance in the crystals, the existence of a band gap for an incident SPP traveling along the two symmetry axes $\ensuremath{\Gamma}M$ and $\ensuremath…
Wavelength-selective directional coupling with dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides
International audience; We consider wavelength-selective splitting of radiation using directional couplers (DCs) formed by dielectric-loaded surface-plasmon-polariton waveguides (DLSPPWs). The DCs were fabricated by depositing subwavelength-sized polymer ridges on a gold film using large-scale UV photolithography and characterized at telecommunications wavelengths with near-field microscopy. We demonstrate a DLSPPW-based 45-mu m-long DC comprising 3 mu m offset S bends and 25-mu m-long parallel waveguides that changes from the "through" state at 1500 nm to 3 dB splitting at 1600 nm, and show that a 50.5-mu m-long DC should enable complete separation of the radiation channels at 1400 and 162…
Dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide components: Going practical
Surface plasmon propagating modes supported by metal/dielectric interfaces in various configurations can be used for radiation guiding similarly to conventional dielectric waveguides. Plasmonic waveguides offer two attractive features: subdiffraction mode confinement and the presence of conducting elements at the mode-field maximum. The first feature can be exploited to realize ultrahigh density of nanophotonics components, whereas the second feature enables the development of dynamic components controlling the plasmon propagation with ultralow signals, minimizing heat dissipation in switching elements. While the first feature is yet to be brought close to the domain of practical applicatio…
Fiber-pigtailed temperature sensors based on dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide-ring resonators.
We demonstrate optical fiber-pigtailed temperature sensors based on dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguide-ring resonators (DLSPP-WRRs), whose transmission depends on the ambient temperature. The DLSPP-WRR-based temperature sensors represent polymer ridge waveguides (~1×1 µm(2) in cross section) forming 5-µm-radius rings coupled to straight waveguides fabricated by UV-lithography on a 50-nm-thick gold layer atop a 2.3-µm-thick CYTOP layer covering a Si wafer. A broadband light source is used to characterize the DLSPP-WRR wavelength-dependent transmission in the range of 1480-1600 nm and to select the DLSPP-WRR component for temperature sensing. In- and out-coupling single-mod…
Efficient excitation of dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguide modes at telecommunication wavelengths
International audience; The excitation of surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) waveguide modes in subwavelength dielectric ridges deposited on a thin gold film has been characterized and optimized at telecommunication wavelengths. The experimental data on the electromagnetic mode structure obtained using scanning near-field optical microscopy have been directly compared to full vectorial three-dimensional finite element method simulations. Two excitation geometries have been investigated where SPPs are excited outside or inside the dielectric tapered region adjoint to the waveguide. The dependence of the efficiency of the SPP guided mode excitation on the taper opening angle has been measured an…
Data Transmission and Thermo-Optic Tuning Performance of Dielectric-Loaded Plasmonic Structures Hetero-Integrated on a Silicon Chip
We demonstrate experimental evidence of the data capture and the low-energy thermo-optic tuning credentials of dielectric-loaded plasmonic structures integrated on a silicon chip. We show 7-nm thermo-optical tuning of a plasmonic racetrack-resonator with less than 3.3 mW required electrical power and verify error-free 10-Gb/s transmission through a 60-mu m-long dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide. We demonstrate experimental evidence of the data capture and the low-energy thermo-optic tuning credentials of dielectric-loaded plasmonic structures integrated on a silicon chip. We show 7-nm thermo-optical tuning of a plasmonic racetrack-resonator with less than 3.3 mW required electrical powe…
Power monitoring in dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides with internal Wheatstone bridges
We report on monitoring the mode power in dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides (DLSPPWs) by measuring the resistance of gold electrodes, supporting the DLSPPW mode propagation, with internal (on-chip) Wheatstone bridges. The investigated DLSPPW configuration consisted of 1-μm-thick and 10-μm-wide cycloaliphatic acrylate polymer ridges tapered laterally to a 1-μm-wide ridge placed on a 50-nm-thin and 4-um wide gold stripe, all supported by a ~1.7-µm-thick Cytop layer deposited on a Si wafer. The fabricated DLSPPW power monitors were characterized at telecom wavelengths, showing very high responsivities reaching up to ~6.4 μV/μW (for a bias voltage of 245 mV) and the operati…
Tb/s switching fabrics for optical interconnects using heterointegration of plasmonics and silicon photonics: The FP7 PLATON approach
We present recent work that is carried out within the FP7 project PLATON on novel Tb/s switch fabric architectures and technologies for optical interconnect applications, employing heterointegration of plasmonics, silicon photonics and electronics.
Efficient unidirectional polarization-controlled excitation of surface plasmon polaritons
Efficient excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) remains one of the most challenging issues in areas of plasmonics related to information communication technologies. In particular, combining high SPP excitation efficiency and acceptance of any polarization of incident light appeared to be impossible to attain due to the polarized nature of SPPs. Here we demonstrate plasmonic couplers that represent arrays of gap SPP resonators producing upon reflection two orthogonal phase gradients in respective linear polarizations of incident radiation. These couplers are thereby capable of efficiently converting incident radiation with arbitrary polarization into SPPs that propagate in orthogon…
Dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide-ring resonators
International audience; Using near-field microscopy, the performance of dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide-ring resonators (WRRs) operating at telecom wavelengths is investigated for various waveguide-ring separations. It is demonstrated that compact ( footprint similar to 150 mu m(2)) and efficient ( extinction ratio similar to 13 dB) WRR-based filters can be realized using UV-lithography. The WRR wavelength responses measured and calculated using the effective-index method are found in good agreement. (c) 2009 Optical Society of America
Low energy routing platforms for optical interconnects using active plasmonics integrated with Silicon Photonics
Power consumption and bandwidth of electronics appear as the main set of technology barriers in next-generation Data Center and High-Performance Computing (HPC) environments. The limited capacity and pitch lane of electrically wired interconnects require the development of new disruptive technologies to cope with the massive amount of data moving across all hierarchical communication levels, namely rack-to-rack, backplane, chip-to-chip and even on-chip interconnections. Plasmonics comes indeed as a disruptive technology that enables seamless interoperability between light beams and electronic control signals through the underlying metallic layer, providing thereby an inherent energy-efficie…
Modulation of surface plasmon coupling-in by one-dimensional surface corrugation
Surface plasmon-polaritons have recently attracted renewed interest in the scientific community for their potential in sub-wavelength optics, light generation and non-destructive sensing. Given that they cannot be directly excited by freely propagating light due to their intrinsical binding to the metal surface, the light-plasmon coupling efficiency becomes of crucial importance for the success of any plasmonic device. Here we present a comprehensive study on the modulation (enhancement or suppression) of such coupling efficiency by means of one-dimensional surface corrugation. Our approach is based on simple wave interference and enables us to make quantitative predictions which have been …
Ultracompact and Low-Power Plasmonic MZI Switch Using Cyclomer Loading
We present a $2\times 2$ hybrid silicon-plasmonic thermooptic (TO) asymmetric Mach–Zehnder interferometric (MZI) switch having only 40- $\mu \text{m}$ long active cyclomer-loaded plasmonic phase arms. It requires less than 12 mW of power and has 2/5- $\mu \text{s}$ ON/OFF-times, respectively, a modulation depth higher than 90% and a 13.2-dB extinction ratio. Data traffic evaluation has been carried out using 10-Gb/s nonreturn-to-zero streams, yielding error-free operation at both switching states with power penalties ranging between 1 to 4.8 dB. The use of the cyclomer loading having a higher TO coefficient than polymethyl methacrylate has resulted to the smallest footprint among plasmonic …