Plasmonic electro-optic modulator design using a resonant metal grating

A plasmonic electro-optic modulator design using an evanescently coupled resonant metal grating is numerically studied in this Letter. Owing to excitation and propagation of long-range surface plasmons between the metal grating nanowires, a deep and narrow reflection dip can be obtained. Improved modulation performance is achieved through decreased damping from large dielectric gaps between the grating nanowires. An optimized electro-optic modulator design with lower insertion loss and low operating voltage is presented. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.