Christian Haffner

Electrically Controlled Plasmonic Switches and Modulators

Plasmonic modulators and switches have recently attracted considerable attention because they offer ultracompact size, high bandwidths, and potentially low-power consumption. In this paper, we review and compare the current state of the art of plasmonic switches and discuss the various physical phenomena that are used to perform efficient switching. More precisely, we discuss plasmonic devices based on the thermal effect, the free carrier dispersion effect, the Pockels effect, phase change materials and switching caused by electrochemical metallization.

Atomic Scale Plasmonic Switch

The atom sets an ultimate scaling limit to Moores law in the electronics industry. While electronics research already explores atomic scales devices, photonics research still deals with devices at the micrometer scale. Here we demonstrate that photonic scaling, similar to electronics, is only limited by the atom. More precisely, we introduce an electrically controlled plasmonic switch operating at the atomic scale. The switch allows for fast and reproducible switching by means of the relocation of an individual or, at most, a few atoms in a plasmonic cavity. Depending on the location of the atom either of two distinct plasmonic cavity resonance states are supported. Experimental results show reversible digital optical switching with an extinction ratio of 9.2 dB and operation at room temperature up to MHz with femtojoule (fJ) power consumption for a single switch operation. This demonstration of an integrated quantum device allowing to control photons at the atomic level opens intriguing perspectives for a fully integrated and highly scalable chip platform, a platform where optics, electronics, and memory may be controlled at the single-atom level.The atom sets an ultimate scaling limit to Moores law in the electronics industry. And while electronics research already explores atomic scales devices, photonics research still deals with devices at the micrometer scale. Here we demonstrate that photonic scaling-similar to electronics-is only limited by the atom. More precisely, we introduce an electrically controlled single atom plasmonic switch. The switch allows for fast and reproducible switching by means of the relocation of an individual or at most -- a few atoms in a plasmonic cavity. Depending on the location of the atom either of two distinct plasmonic cavity resonance states are supported. Experimental results show reversible digital optical switching with an extinction ration of 10 dB and operation at room temperature with femtojoule (fJ) power consumption for a single switch operation. This demonstration of a CMOS compatible, integrated quantum device allowing to control photons at the single-atom level opens intriguing perspectives for a fully integrated and highly scalable chip platform -- a platform where optics, electronics and memory may be controlled at the single-atom level.

Direct Conversion of Free Space Millimeter Waves to Optical Domain by Plasmonic Modulator Antenna

A scheme for the direct conversion of millimeter and THz waves to optical signals is introduced. The compact device consists of a plasmonic phase modulator that is seamlessly cointegrated with an antenna. Neither high-speed electronics nor electronic amplification is required to drive the modulator. A built-in enhancement of the electric field by a factor of 35 000 enables the direct conversion of millimeter-wave signals to the optical domain. This high enhancement is obtained via a resonant antenna that is directly coupled to an optical field by means of a plasmonic modulator. The suggested concept provides a simple and cost-efficient alternative solution to conventional schemes where millimeter-wave signals are first converted to the electrical domain before being up-converted to the optical domain.

108 Gbit/s Plasmonic Mach–Zehnder Modulator with > 70-GHz Electrical Bandwidth

We report on high-extinction-ratio, ultrafast plasmonic Mach-Zehnder modulators. We demonstrate data modulation at line rates up to 72 Gbit/s (BPSK) and 108 Gbit/s (4-ASK). The driving voltages are Ud = 4 and 2.5 Vp for 12.5 and 25 μm short devices, respectively. The frequency response shows no bandwidth limitations up to 70 GHz. Static characterizations indicate extinction ratios > 25 dB.

Plasmonic modulator with >170 GHz bandwidth demonstrated at 100 GBd NRZ

We demonstrate a plasmonic Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator with a flat frequency response exceeding 170 GHz. The modulator comprises two phase modulators exploiting the Pockels effect of an organic electro-optic material in plasmonic slot waveguides. We further show modulation at 100 GBd NRZ and 60 GBd PAM-4. The electrical drive signals were generated using a 100 GSa/s digital to analog converter (DAC). The high-speed and small-scale devices are relevant for next-generation optical interconnects.

High speed plasmonic modulator array enabling dense optical interconnect solutions

Plasmonic modulators might pave the way for a new generation of compact low-power high-speed optoelectronic devices. We introduce an extremely compact transmitter based on plasmonic Mach-Zehnder modulators offering a capacity of 4 × 36 Gbit/s on a footprint that is only limited by the size of the high-speed contact pads. The transmitter array is contacted through a multicore fiber with a channel spacing of 50 μm.

Plasmonic Organic Hybrid Modulators—Scaling Highest Speed Photonics to the Microscale

Complementing plasmonic slot waveguides with highly nonlinear organic materials has rendered a new generation of ultracompact active nanophotonic components that are redefining the state of the art. In this paper, we review the fundamentals of this so-called plasmonic- organic-hybrid (POH) platform. Starting from simple phase shifters to the most compact IQ modulators, we introduce key devices of high-speed data communications. For instance, all-plasmonic Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs) are reviewed and long-term prospects are discussed. This kind of modulator already features unique properties such as a small footprint (<; 20 μm2), a large electro-optic bandwidth (> 110 GHz), a small energy consumption (~25 fJ/b), a large extinction ratio (> 25 dB) in combination with a record small voltage-length product of 40 Vμm. Finally, as an example for seamless integration we introduce novel plasmonic IQ modulators. With such modulators we show the generation of advanced modulation formats (QPSK, 16-QAM) on footprints as small as 10 μm × 75 μm. This demonstration ultimately shows how plasmonics can be used to control both phase and amplitude of an optical carrier on the microscale with reasonably low losses.

High-speed plasmonic Mach-Zehnder modulator in a waveguide

We demonstrate a plasmonic Mach-Zehnder-modulator with a record-small length of 10 μm. The modulator is fully integrated into a single silicon waveguide and operates at 72 Gbit s^-1. A voltage-length product as low as V_πL=50 ±5 Vpm is found.

High-speed plasmonic modulator in a single metal layer

Ultrafast plasmonic modulation Plasmonics converts light into propagating electrical signals. This approach could allow us to shrink optical components to the nanometer scale, far below the hundreds of wavelengths typically set by conventional optics. Ayata et al. fabricated a plasmonic modulator from a single layer of gold using a substrate-independent process. They created a device with a footprint less than the cross-sectional area of a human hair and with modulation rates exceeding 100 GHz, which could provide a flexible platform for future ultrafast plasmonic technology. Science, this issue p. 630 A high-speed, small-footprint plasmonic modulator is fabricated from a single layer of gold. 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.

Plasmonic phased array feeder enabling ultra-fast beam steering at millimeter waves

In this paper, we demonstrate an integrated microwave phoneeded for beamtonics phased array antenna feeder at 60 GHz with a record-low footprint. Our design is based on ultra-compact plasmonic phase modulators (active area <2.5µm2) that not only provide small size but also ultra-fast tuning speed. In our design, the integrated circuit footprint is in fact only limited by the contact pads of the electrodes and by the optical feeding waveguides. Using the high speed of the plasmonic modulators, we demonstrate beam steering with less than 1 ns reconfiguration time, i.e. the beam direction is reconfigured in-between 1 GBd transmitted symbols.