Dingbo Chen

Tunable band-stop plasmonic waveguide filter with symmetrical multiple-teeth-shaped structure.

A nanometeric plasmonic filter with a symmetrical multiple-teeth-shaped structure is investigated theoretically and numerically. A tunable wide bandgap is achievable by adjusting the depth and number of teeth. This phenomenon can be attributed to the interference superposition of the reflected and transmitted waves from each tooth. Moreover, the effects of varying the number of identical teeth are also discussed. It is found that the bandgap width increases continuously with the increasing number of teeth. The finite difference time domain method is used to simulate and compute the coupling of surface plasmon polariton waves with different structures in this Letter. The plasmonic waveguide filter that we propose here may have meaningful applications in ultra-fine spectrum analysis and high-density nanoplasmonic integration circuits.

Plasmonic Refractive Index Sensor with High Figure of Merit Based on Concentric-Rings Resonator

A plasmonic refractive index (RI) sensor based on metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide coupled with concentric double rings resonator (CDRR) is proposed and investigated numerically. Utilizing the novel supermodes of the CDRR, the FWHM of the resonant wavelength can be modulated, and a sensitivity of 1060 nm/RIU with high figure of merit (FOM) 203.8 is realized in the near-infrared region. The unordinary modes, as well as the influence of structure parameters on the sensing performance, are also discussed. Such plasmonic sensor with simple framework and high optical resolution could be applied to on-chip sensing systems and integrated optical circuits. Besides, the special cases of bio-sensing and triple rings are also discussed.

Ultra-high resolution filter and optical field modulator based on a surface plasmon polariton.

A new filter structure and optical field modulator with ultra-high resolution based on plasmonic nano-cavity resonators is proposed and numerically investigated. The structure consists of a square nano-cavity resonator connected with several waveguides. All waveguides and cavity are etched on a silver film whose size is 1.1×0.75  μm. Compared with traditional filters, the FWHM (full width at half-maximum) of this structures spectrum curve can be less than 7 nm; namely, the resolution has been greatly improved. The structure also presents the feature of an optical field modulator when both inputs are working simultaneously, and it provides a promising way to design and manufacture future optical logical device.

Section 1Tunable broadband terahertz absorbers based on multiple layers of graphene ribbons

A novel metamaterial structure consisting of multiple graphene/dielectric layers and metallic substrate is proposed to achieve the broadband absorption response at terahertz (THz) frequencies. Utilizing the phase modulation effect generated by graphene ribbons, the bright-dark field is formed to suppress the reflection based on interference theory in a wide period. By irregularly stacking four graphene ribbons of varying widths on four dielectric layers with unequal thickness in a period, we merge successive absorption peaks into a broadband absorption spectrum successfully. The absorption decreases with fluctuations as the incident angle increases. The position of the absorption spectrum can be dynamically tuned by a small change in the Fermi level of graphene instead of re-optimizing and re-fabricating the device. In addition, the bandwidth of the absorber can be further improved by means of increasing the graphene/dielectric layers. The structure proposed in this paper has potential applications in tunable terahertz photonic devices such as dynamic broadband filters, modulators and sensors.

Ultrashort and efficient adiabatic waveguide taper based on thin flat focusing lenses

A new structure is reported, which realizes the flat focusing by introducing the silicon subwavelength slits into the waveguide. The subwavelength silicon-air slits, with variable widths to match the phase compensation, makes possible to focus a plane wave. The flat lens proposed here demonstrates relatively high power gain at the focal point or two focal points. By using such a design, we demonstrate a grating coupler with an ultrashort taper of 22.5-μm to connect a 10-μm-wide input waveguide and a 0.5-μm-wide output waveguide, achieving a transmission up to nearly 95.4% numerically in the communication band. The length of which is one-twentieth of that for the traditional taper. To our best knowledge, this work is the first demonstration of an ultrashort taper based on flat lens, which significantly improves the integration of the photonics integrated circuits, and indicates an effective solution for potential applications in compactly integrated micro/nano optical devices.

Ultra-compact beam splitter and filter based on a graphene plasmon waveguide

This paper presents a sheet of graphene-ribbon waveguide as a simple and ultra-compact splitter and filter in the mid-infrared waveband. The central wavelength of the graphene surface plasmons (GSPs) and the coupling intensity of this splitter can be tuned by changing the physical parameters, such as the chemical potential, the width of the waveguide, the gap between neighboring graphene ribbons, the refractive index of the substrate, the carrier relaxation time, etc. The effects of these parameters on GSP waves and beam-splitter specifications are numerically depicted based on the finite-difference time-domain method. This proposed structure can be used to construct an ultra-compact fast-tunable beam splitter, filter, modulator, and switch in the mid-infrared range.

The Transmission Characteristics of Asymmetrical Multi-Teeth-Shaped Plasmonic Waveguide Structure

The transmission characteristics of asymmetrical multi-teeth-shaped plasmonic waveguide structure are investigated theoretically and numerically. The tunable dual flat bandgaps are achieved in our proposed structure. This feature can provide a promising application for plasmonic bandstop filter. In addition, according to the hybrid effects of the first order resonance and high order resonance of N identical asymmetrical teeth, a sharp transmission peak can be obtained. This peak, which is within two bandgaps, possesses a relative small full-width at half-maximum, about 11.5 nm. Moreover, the resonant wavelength of this sharp peak can be regulated by adjusting the relative depths of N asymmetrical teeth. These results that we acquire may have important application potential on high-density nanoplasmonic integration circuits.

Active Enhancement of Slow Light Based on Plasmon-Induced Transparency with Gain Materials

As a plasmonic analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) has drawn more attention due to its potential of realizing on-chip sensing, slow light and nonlinear effect enhancement. However, the performance of a plasmonic system is always limited by the metal ohmic loss. Here, we numerically report a PIT system with gain materials based on plasmonic metal-insulator-metal waveguide. The corresponding phenomenon can be theoretically analyzed by coupled mode theory (CMT). After filling gain material into a disk cavity, the system intrinsic loss can be compensated by external pump beam, and the PIT can be greatly fueled to achieve a dramatic enhancement of slow light performance. Finally, a double-channel enhanced slow light is introduced by adding a second gain disk cavity. This work paves way for a potential new high-performance slow light device, which can have significant applications for high-compact plasmonic circuits and optical communication.

Fully vertical-coupling and one-step etching subwavelength binary blazed grating coupler

We proposed a fully vertical-coupling and one-step etching subwavelength binary blazed grating (BBG) coupler with coupling efficiencies exceeding 80% at a wavelength of 1.55μm. Based on reflector grating and Bragg bottom reflector layer, the coupling efficiency gets its maximum 90% when λ is equal to 1.535μm with the 1 dB wavelength bandwidth is around 35nm. The BBG is formed with multiple rectangular pillars having different widths and uniform height, which is a kind of binary version of the triangular tooth shape of the blazed grating and can be easily fabricated by only one etching step. It is CMOS compatible and available for mass production.

Dual-band perfect absorbers based on the magnetic resonance and the cavity resonance

An infrared (IR) absorber based on the metamaterial structure is proposed theoretically and numerically. The near-unity absorption can be achieved at a certain wavelength by optimizing geometrical parameters of the structure. Moreover, we can switch a single-band absorber to dual-band absorber by decreasing the thickness of top metallic layer which is perforated by an air-filled ribbon. At the same time, we confirm that the mechanism of this two absorption bands is completely different. The simultaneous effects of the magnetic resonance and the cavity resonance occur at our proposed structure. Besides according to the control of polarization direction, the absorption peaks occur at the two constant wavelengths, and the superposed value of this two absorption peaks is always close to a constant. Based on this phenomenon, a simple dual-band absorber is designed when the thickness of top shaped metallic film is relatively large. The cavity response is not the existence in this condition. These results that we obtain may provide some promising applications such as sensors, thermal imagers, and IR detectors.