Field-effect active plasmonics for ultracompact electro-optic switching

Merging of electronics and photonics at subwavelength dimensions could potentially allow development of ultracompact electro-optic modulators and active optical interconnects. Here, we introduce a field-effect active plasmonic modulator where the metallic ring serves as both a photonic resonator and a field electrode. By exploiting the simultaneous electronic and photonic functionalities of our plasmonic device, we show devices offering significantly improved modulation depths (as high as similar to 10.85 dB) compared to active dielectric micro-ring resonators. Device concepts introduced in this work are applicable in realization of various integrated components and could play an important role in development of active plasmonic circuits. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4754139]