High-speed plasmonic modulator in a single metal layer

• Autores: Masafumi Ayata, Yuriy Fedoryshyn, Wolfgang Heni
• Localización: Science, ISSN 0036-8075, Vol. 358, Nº 6363, 2017, págs. 630-632
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Plasmonics provides a possible route to overcome both the speed limitations of electronics and the critical dimensions of photonics. We present an all-plasmonic 116–gigabits per second electro-optical modulator in which all the elements—the vertical grating couplers, splitters, polarization rotators, and active section with phase shifters—are included in a single metal layer. The device can be realized on any smooth substrate surface and operates with low energy consumption. Our results show that plasmonics is indeed a viable path to an ultracompact, highest-speed, and low-cost technology that might find many applications in a wide range of fields of sensing and communications because it is compatible with and can be placed on a wide variety of materials.