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Title: Response times of a degenerately doped semiconductor based plasmonic modulator

We present a transient response study of a semiconductor based plasmonic switch. The proposed device operates through active control and modulation of localized electron density waves, i.e., surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at degenerately doped In0.53Ga0.47As based PN++junctions. A set of devices is designed and fabricated, and its optical and electronic behaviors are studied both experimentally and theoretically. Optical characterization shows far-field reflectivity modulation, a result of electrical tuning of the SPPs at the PN++junctions for mid-IR wavelengths, with significant 3 dB bandwidths. Numerical studies using a self-consistent electro-optic multi-physics model are performed to uncover the temporal response of the devices’ electromagnetic and kinetic mechanisms facilitating the SPP switching at the PN++junctions. Numerical simulations show strong synergy with the experimental results, validating the claim of potential optoelectronic switching with a 3 dB bandwidth as high as 2 GHz. Thus, this study confirms that the presented SPP diode architecture can be implemented for high-speed control of SPPs through electrical means, providing a pathway toward fast all-semiconductor plasmonic devices.

 
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Award ID(s):
2138198
NSF-PAR ID:
10405404
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Optical Society of America
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of the Optical Society of America B
Volume:
40
Issue:
5
ISSN:
0740-3224; JOBPDE
Page Range / eLocation ID:
Article No. 978
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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