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Long-range surface plasmon polariton nanowire waveguides for device applications

K. Leosson, T. Nikolajsen, A. Boltasseva, and S. I. Bozhevolnyi

Open Access Open Access

Abstract

We report an experimental study of long-range surface plasmon polaritons propagating along metallic wires of sub-micrometer rectangular cross-sections (nanowires) embedded in a dielectric. At telecom wavelengths, optical signals are shown to propagate up to several millimeters along such nanowires. As the wires approach a square cross-section, the guided mode becomes more symmetric and can, for example, be tuned to match closely the mode of a standard single-mode optical fiber. Furthermore, symmetric nanowires are shown to guide both TM and TE polarizations. In order to illustrate the applicability of plasmonic nanowire waveguides to optical circuits, we demonstrate a compact variable optical attenuator consisting of a single nanowire that simultaneously carries light and electrical current.

©2006 Optical Society of America

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Figures (4)
Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. Output facets of nanowire waveguides having different width-to-height aspect ratios. Polarized light is launched into the waveguides with a polarization direction rotated 45° with respect to the TE/TM axes of the waveguides.

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Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. Vertical (left column) and horizontal (right column) mode profiles for TM (top row) and TE (bottom row) polarizations, derived from the images in Fig. 1. For asymmetric waveguides only one polarization is guided while for the symmetric case (aspect ratio close to 1) both TE and TM-polarized modes are observed at the output.

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Fig. 3.
Fig. 3. Propagation loss and coupling loss in nanowire waveguides of different dimensions, derived from a cut-back measurements. Reducing the wire dimensions increases the mode size and reduces the Ohmic loss due to a smaller field-metal overlap.

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Fig. 4.
Fig. 4. Response curves for optical attenuators based on LRSPP nanowire waveguides. Electrical current passes through the waveguide core between the contact pads and results in local heating of the waveguide, gradually reducing its effective index. The inset shows the electrical resistance of the investigated devices.

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