A compact and high-speed plasmonic slot waveguide coupled with photonic waveguide based 2x2 electro-optic switch

We report an electro-optic switch at 1.55 pm wavelength based on Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) in which, the MZI arms and the input-output 3-dB couplers are designed using plasmonic and photonic waveguides respectively. More than 90% photons are successfully converted into surface plasmons through tapering the both photonic as well as plasmonic waveguide. The plasmonic and photonic mode profiles, interaction between plasmonic and RF fields, confinement of plasmonic field in plasmonic waveguide, and trade-off between loss and confinement are thoroughly examined before the combined optical and electrical simulation of the switch. The switching voltage is less than 6 Volts, the MZI arm length is only 15 pm, the crosstalk is less than 35 dB, and the maximum switching speed is 11.55 ps. The footprint of the switch is only 290 x 50 mu m(2).