Tunable surface plasmon polaritons in metal-strip waveguides with magnetized semiconductor substrates in Voigt configuration

Abstract

The properties of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a magnetically tunable strip waveguide geometry comprising of a metal film of finite width deposited on a magnetized semiconductor and covered by an isotropic dielectric material were studied in Voigt configuration. The method of lines was used to compute the dispersion relation of fundamental modes, and the dependence of the propagation constant on metal film dimensions, material parameters and biasing magnetic field was considered. The bounded SPPs are nonreciprocal with respect to the direction of the biasing magnetic field, producing a nonreciprocal phase shift of the order of 2–18 rad mm−1 at a wavelength of excitation 1.55 μm. Moreover, controlled propagation of SPP modes and their effective tuning are possible in this strip geometry, which enables the design and development of tunable optoelectronic devices.