Plasmonic modulators and switches (Conference Presentation)

A rich variety of plasmonic modulators and switches is emerging. They offer ultra-compact size in the order of a few micrometers, bandwidths from the MHz to the THz, low power consumption and they operate across a large spectral range. Some plasmonic devices are latching and others offer linear performance. Plasmonic devices not only come in a variety of shapes but also rely on various physical phenomena such as the thermal effect, the free carrier dispersion effect, the Pockels effect, the material phase change effect or they may rely on electrochemical metallization effects. After a discussion on the physics of plasmonics we will conclude the talk with a discussion of the opportunities and challenges related to plasmonics in optical communications and in particular with respect to applications in optical interconnects.