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, …
Recess photomask contact lithography and the fabrication of coupled silicon photonic and plasmonic waveguide switches
Display Omitted A lithography technique capable of printing submicron-sized features inside deep cavities is presented.A so-called recess photomask adapted to the wafer's topography is employed.Based on a standard mask aligner, Recess Photomask Contact Lithography has moderate cost.Its efficiency for a photonic/plasmonic switch application was demonstrated experimentally.The technique is extensible to any design and to wafers with multiple level recesses. A novel lithographic method is presented, based on the use of a mask aligner in the contact mode with a modified photomask, the so-called recess photomask; its goal is the printing of submicron-sized patterns into deep cavities of a chip, …
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…
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…
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.
Surface plasmon circuitry in opto-electronics
This tutorial reviews the physics of surface plasmon circuitry in order to bring to the fore recently demonstrated applications of surface plasmon in optoelectronics such as on-board optical interconnects or routing in datacom networks.
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…