LONG RANGE SURFACE PLASMON DEVICES DESIGN USING SUBWAVELENGTH METAL GRATING

Abstract

In this paper we review a new electro-optic devices design strategy using long range surface plasmon (LRSP) excitation along subwavelength metal grating. It is shown that LRSP can be excited on extremely thin subwavelength metal grating embedded in symmetric dielectric ambient. Due to coupling and propagation of LRSP between the metal grating nanowires, a super-narrow reflection dip can be obtained. Compared with conventional LRSP along metal thin film, much narrower resonance is achieved through decreased damping from the existence of large dielectric gaps between the grating nanowires. This interesting phenomenon can be used to design electro-optics devices with improved performance. Examples of electro-optic modulator design with lower insertion loss and low operating voltage and spectral notch filter design with very narrow spectral width will be shown. Its application in refractive index sensing is also discussed.