Ultra-compact modulators based on novel CMOS-compatible plasmonic materials

TL;DR

This paper introduces ultra-compact plasmonic modulators using CMOS-compatible materials, achieving high modulation depth and potential integration with existing photonic circuits.

Contribution

It presents novel planar layouts of plasmonic waveguide modulators utilizing CMOS-compatible materials and carrier tuning for efficient modulation.

Findings

Extinction ratio of 86 dB/um achieved

3-dB modulation depth in less than one micron

Potential for integration with existing photonic circuits

Abstract

We propose several planar layouts of ultra-compact plasmonic waveguide modulators that utilize alternative CMOS-compatible materials. The modulation is efficiently achieved by tuning the carrier concentration in a transparent conducting oxide layer, thereby tuning the waveguide either in plasmonic resonance or off-resonance. Resonance significantly increases the absorption coefficient of the plasmonic waveguide, which enables larger modulation depth. We show that an extinction ratio of 86 dB/um can be achieved, allowing for a 3-dB modulation depth in less than one micron at the telecommunication wavelength. Our multilayer structures can potentially be integrated with existing plasmonic and photonic waveguides as well as novel semiconductor-based hybrid photonic/electronic circuits.