Abstract
The potential of graphene in plasmonic electro-optical waveguide modulators has been investigated in detail by finite-element method modelling of various widely used plasmonic waveguiding configurations. We estimated the maximum possible modulation depth values one can achieve with plasmonic devices operating at telecom wavelengths and exploiting the optical Pauli blocking effect in graphene. Conclusions and guidelines for optimization of modulation/intrinsic loss trade-off have been provided and generalized for any graphene-based plasmonic waveguide modulators, which should help in consideration and design of novel active-plasmonic devices.
Highlights
Graphene is a material possessing numerous unique properties, of which unexpectedly high opacity combined with its tuneabilty by gating promises interesting applications in graphenebased optical modulators
Similar to the previous structure, we introduce a layer of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) of variable thickness on top of the gold surface, beneath the dielectric waveguide made of acrylic glass (PMMA), whose geometry is optimized for mode confinement at telecom wavelength [12]: 500 nm in width and 550 nm in height [Fig. 2(c)]
We provide the results of numerical modelling of a scaled-down dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguide (DLSPPW) of 140 nm in width and 150 nm in height [Fig. 2(e,f)]
Summary
Graphene is a material possessing numerous unique properties, of which unexpectedly high opacity combined with its tuneabilty by gating promises interesting applications in graphenebased optical modulators. A most straightforward way to increase interaction volume is to guide radiation to be modulated along graphene layer [1, 2] This approach can be advantageously utilized in plasmonics dealing with electromagnetic modes which naturally propagate along and are greatly enhanced at the boundaries between metal and dielectric, where it is convenient to place a graphene layer. We consider simplified analytical estimations of the modulation depth for several basic configurations that can be considered as elementary building blocks of any plasmonic waveguide. Such analysis should reveal the main physics involved and hint on the most promising plasmonic mode for the realization of graphene-based modulators. We continue with accurate finite-element modelling of more complicated geometrical structures and suggest several candidates for the practical realization of modulators, which are analyzed in detail
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