An investigation on shallow-etched InP-based hybrid nanoplasmonic waveguides for nonlinear applications

Abstract

Hybrid plasmonic waveguides (HPWs) can provide a good compromise between loss and confinement. The Kerr nonlinear effect is potentially useful for designing new optical devices such as optical switches. In this study, a new shallow-etched nonlinear hybrid plasmonic waveguide (NLHPW) on an InP substrate is proposed. Nonlinear analysis is carried out using numerical methods to verify the properties of various parameters, including the propagation length (Lp), effective mode area (Aeff), nonlinear coefficient (γ), and figure of merit (FoM). A maximum nonlinear coefficient of γ = 6.4 × 105 W−1 km−1 is obtained for the proposed NLHPW. Finally, the results obtained for various parameters such as the propagation length, nonlinear coefficient, and FoM of the proposed NLHPW are compared with two other NLHPWs, viz. silicon-on-insulator (SOI)-based and deeply etched InP-based designs, at a wavelength of 1550 nm.