Terunori Kaihara

Enhancement of magneto-optical Kerr effect by surface plasmons in trilayer structure consisting of double-layer dielectrics and ferromagnetic metal

Giant enhancement of the magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) by surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) is theoretically shown in a trilayer structure consisting of double-layer dielectrics and a ferromagnetic metal (Al2O3/SiO2/Fe). We calculated the resonant enhancement of the transverse MOKE (TMOKE) and polar MOKE (PMOKE) using the attenuated total reflection (ATR) configuration with the transfer matrix method using a 4 × 4 scattering matrix. At a specific film thickness of the low-index SiO2 layer, where confinement of the SPPs on the Fe surface becomes close to the cutoff condition, the incident light from the Al2O3 couples with the SPPs at the SiO2/Fe boundary most efficiently, resulting in resonant enhancement of the MOKE at an incident angle corresponding to the wave vector of the SPPs. The calculated PMOKE showed orthogonal transformation (90°-rotation) and almost full-orbed deformation (44°-ellipticity) of the polarization, and the TMOKE showed a change in reflectance of about 34 dB upon magnetization reversal.

Characterization of Transverse Magneto-optic Kerr Effect in Ferromagnetic Metals for Semiconductor Optical Isolators

With the aim of optimizing ferromagnetic metals for use in semiconductor optical isolators, we characterized the transverse magneto-optic Kerr effect in the ferromagnetic metals Fe, Co, and Fe50Co50 at the telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm. Fe50Co50 showed the largest transverse Kerr effect. We compared the experimental results with theoretical calculations based on previous reports. From this comparison, Fe50Co50 is the most suitable ferromagnetic metal among the three materials for semiconductor optical isolators operating at 1550 nm.

Magneto-Optical Properties and Size Effect of Ferromagnetic Metal Nanoparticles

We investigated the magneto-optical (MO) effect with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) on ferromagnetic metal (Fe and Co) nanoparticles. We estimated the electric-field enhancement of the ferromagnetic metal nanoparticles caused by LSPR based on Mie scattering theory and compared it with that of Au nanoparticles. The electric-field enhancement of the ferromagnetic metal nanoparticles was 15–17, which is half of that of the Au nanoparticles. In order to explain the calculated results, we prepared ferromagnetic metal nanoparticles by a self-assembly process. We measured the optical transmission spectra and Faraday effect of the ferromagnetic nanoparticles. Although remarkable MO enhancement was not observed, we found characteristic MO spectra and a peak shift at wavelengths longer than 800 nm in samples whose thickness was less than 6 nm. We numerically investigated the size effect and reproduced the experimental results. We concluded that localized plasmons of ferromagnetic metal nanoparticles can produce electric-field enhancement, but the enhancement is not enough to increase the MO effect, and that the MO effect of nanosized ferromagnetic metals could be influenced by size effects rather than by LSPR.

Nonreciprocal dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides using magneto-optical effect of Fe.

We have implemented the nonreciprocal propagation capabilities into plasmonic waveguides and have simulated the performances. We employed dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguide (DLSPPW) and long-range DLSPPW (LR-DLSPPW) configurations, where ferromagnetic-metal Fe is used instead of noble metals in order to obtain nonreciprocal propagations by the transverse magneto-optical (MO) effect. The nonreciprocal performances were characterized by the finite-difference frequency-domain (FDFD) method in terms of the propagation losses in return for the nonreciprocal phase shift (NRPS) and nonreciprocal propagation loss (NRL). The NRPS and NRL of the DLSPPW configuration are larger than those of the previously reported semiconductor waveguide optical isolators owing to the large MO constant of Fe and the field confinement by surface plasmons although the propagation loss for NRL of 1 dB is at least 31 dB and the propagation length is limited to less than 10 μm. To reduce such a large propagation loss, we introduced the LR-DLSPPW configuration composed of Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) ridge and Benzocyclobutene (BCB) buffer layer. The Fe layer thickness and width are optimized to 50 nm and 500 nm, respectively, so that sizable MO effect and low propagation loss coexist. The propagation loss for NRL of 1 dB is suppressed to ~10 dB within a waveguide length of ~56 μm. Our comprehensive investigation offers fundamental information on practical magneto-plasmonic waveguides and how much nonreciprocal performances are expected, providing an insight into the integration of magneto-plasmonics with on-chip photonics and electronics.

Dielectric-loaded magnetic and nonmagnetic plasmonic waveguides on SOI wafer

Propagation characteristics of magnetic and nonmagnetic plasmon waveguides using Au and Fe have been studied. The devices are theoretically optimized and fabricated on a SOI substrate. The transmission characteristics are investigated on those waveguides.

Integrated optical isolators using magnetic surface plasmon (Presentation Recording)

Optical isolators are one of the essential components to protect semiconductor laser diodes (LDs) from backward reflected light in integrated optics. In order to realize optical isolators, nonreciprocal propagation of light is necessary, which can be realized by magnetic materials. Semiconductor optical isolators have been strongly desired on Si and III/V waveguides. We have developed semiconductor optical isolators based on nonreciprocal loss owing to transverse magneto-optic Kerr effect, where the ferromagnetic metals are deposited on semiconductor optical waveguides1). Use of surface plasmon polariton at the interface of ferromagnetic metal and insulator leads to stronger optical confinement and magneto-optic effect. It is possible to modulate the optical confinement by changing the magnetic field direction, thus optical isolator operation is proposed2, 3). We have investigated surface plasmons at the interfaces between ferrimagnetic garnet/gold film, and applications to waveguide optical isolators. We assumed waveguides composed of Au/Si(38.63nm)/Ce:YIG(1700nm)/Si(220nm)/Si , and calculated the coupling lengths between Au/Si(38.63nm)/Ce:YIG plasmonic waveguide and Ce:YIG/Si(220nm)/Si waveguide for transversely magnetized Ce:YIG with forward and backward directions. The coupling length was calculated to 232.1um for backward propagating light. On the other hand, the coupling was not complete, and the length was calculated to 175.5um. The optical isolation by using the nonreciprocal coupling and propagation loss was calculated to be 43.7dB when the length of plasmonic waveguide is 700um. 1) H. Shimizu et al., J. Lightwave Technol. 24, 38 (2006). 2) V. Zayets et al., Materials, 5, 857-871 (2012). 3) J. Montoya, et al, J. Appl. Phys. 106, 023108, (2009).

A Design of Optical Isolator Utilizing Surface Plasmons in Co / Al 2 O 3 / AlGaAs Waveguides for Integration into Photonic Integrated Circuits

We have theoretically proposed and designed compact optical isolators based on surface plasmon in Co / Al2O3 / Al0.5Ga0.5As for photonic integrated circuits. The device shows optical isolation of 0.18 dB / μm and better tolerance of the buffer layer thickness for optical isolation based on surface plasmon.