Abstract
A combination of computational power provided by modern MOSFET-based devices with light assisted wideband communication at the nanoscale can bring electronic technologies to the next level. Obvious obstacles include a size mismatch between electronic and photonic components as well as a weak light–matter interaction typical for existing devices. Polariton modes can be used to overcome these difficulties at the fundamental level. Here, we review applications of such modes, related to the design and fabrication of electro–optical circuits. The emphasis is made on surface plasmon-polaritons which have already demonstrated their value in many fields of technology. Other possible quasiparticles as well as their hybridization with plasmons are discussed. A quasiparticle-based paradigm in electronics, developed at the microscopic level, can be used in future molecular electronics and quantum computing.
Highlights
Further achievements in electronics and photonics imply their better integration
Regarding the future of electronics, it is important to note that the development of modern nanofabrication techniques and mesoscopic physics unavoidably leads to molecular electronics, where basic elements of circuits are represented by single molecules [2]
Another example comes from the field of plasmonic photovoltaics [109], where the solar energy of photons can be converted to electron-hole pairs in a semiconductor via the excitation of a surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) on gold nanorods
Summary
Further achievements in electronics and photonics imply their better integration. Usage of photons at the level of circuits and single chips has a huge potential to improve modern intelligent systems [1]. Along with the usage of light for communication at small and intermediate scales, photonic circuits may perform logical and computational operations This implies that the distribution of functions between photons and electrons may be more advanced and potentially more productive than just communication and computation in the future generation of electro–optical chips. A key active component in the interaction between electronic and photonic subsystems in mixed circuits is a modulator, i.e., the device which converts an electronic signal to an optical signal or vice versa. The importance of this active element is comparable with the importance of transistors in electronics.
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