Study of plasmonic slot waveguides with a nonlinear metamaterial core: semi-analytical and numerical methods

Abstract

Two distinct models are developed to investigate the transverse magnetic stationary solutions propagating in one-dimensional anisotropic nonlinear plasmonic structures made from a Kerr-type nonlinear metamaterial core embedded between two semi-infinite metal claddings. The first model is semi-analytical, in which we assume that the anisotropic nonlinearity depends only on the transverse component of the electric field and that the nonlinear refractive index modification is small compared to the linear one. This method allows us to derive analytically the field profiles and nonlinear dispersion relations in terms of the Jacobi elliptical functions. The second model is fully numerical and is based on the finite element method in which all the components of the electric field are considered in the Kerr-type nonlinearity, with no presumptions as to the nonlinear refractive index change. Our finite-element-based model is valid beyond the weak nonlinearity regime and generalizes the well-known single-component fixed power algorithm that is usually used. Examples of the main cases are investigated, including those with strong spatial nonlinear effects at low power. Loss issues are reduced through the use of a gain medium in the nonlinear metamaterial core. Using anisotropic nonlinear FDTD simulations, we provide some results for the properties of the main solution.