Abstract
Loss compensation in long-range dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides is theoretically analyzed when rare-earth-doped double tungstate crystalline material is used as the gain medium in three different waveguide configurations. We study the effect of waveguide geometry on loss compensation at the telecom wavelength of 1.55 μm, and demonstrate that a material gain as small as 12.5 dB/cm is sufficient for lossless propagation of plasmonic modes with sub-micron lateral confinement when using waveguide ridges with gain.
Highlights
Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), evanescent electromagnetic waves propagating along metal-dielectric interfaces, have been the subject of numerous studies due to their unique properties promising applications in a variety of fields, such as optical biosensing [1], data storage [2], photovoltaic cells [3], and highly integrated photonic circuits [4]
Loss compensation in plasmonic waveguides will pave the road toward utilization of these structures in a wide range of novel devices by permitting full exploitation of their potential
A detailed investigation of the compensation of propagation loss in LR-DLSPP waveguides using RE-doped double tungstates as the gain material has been presented for three different configurations that were selected keeping in mind manufacturability using fabrication and assembly equipment commonly available in standard microfabrication cleanrooms
Summary
Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), evanescent electromagnetic waves propagating along metal-dielectric interfaces, have been the subject of numerous studies due to their unique properties promising applications in a variety of fields, such as optical biosensing [1], data storage [2], photovoltaic cells [3], and highly integrated photonic circuits [4]. The great interest in plasmonic waveguides is largely due to their capability to confine the electromagnetic field below the diffraction limit, which can potentially lead to photonic circuits suitable for very large scale integration [4]. Another interesting feature of SPP waveguides is the high sensitivity to their immediate environment that makes them very attractive for realizing ultra-sensitive optical sensors [1]. RE gain materials can amplify very-high-rate signals in the small-signal-gain regime without distortion [30] They provide a large gain bandwidth up to a few tens of nanometers, which is interesting for broadband optical amplification and the generation of ultra-short laser pulses. Lossless propagation is predicted for material gain as low as 12.5 dB/cm, while maintaining a mode size comparable to conventional dielectric-loaded surface plasmonpolariton waveguides [13]
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