An All-Optical Modulator Based On A Graphene-Plasmonic Slot Waveguide At 1550 Nm

An all-optical modulator with high modulation efficiency based on a graphene-plasmonic slot waveguide structure is proposed. The modulation efficiency is enhanced by the strong interaction between the light and the graphene-plasmonic structure. A modulation efficiency of 0.21 dB mu m(-1) is obtained with the signal light at a wavelength of 1550 nm. A graphene-plasmonic slot waveguide device of length of 10 mu m is fabricated in the experiment. Benefiting from the strong modulation, it is a promising candidate as an on-chip optical modulator with high modulation efficiency and micrometer-scale footprint. (C) 2019 The Japan Society of Applied Physics