Waveguide coupled high speed plasmon optical modulator

Silicon is the dominant material for electronic devices, but basic material properties have limited its use for optical devices. Passive components such as waveguides, splitters and multiplexers have been demonstrated on silicon wafers. Most active photonic devices have been made with materials such as gallium arsenide that cannot be grown directly on silicon electronics. The development of active optical elements on silicon will enable the large scale integration of optics and electronics directly on a single silicon chip. This can revolutionize many fields, including data communications, telecommunications, optical computing and sensing. This STTR phase I contract will develop novel CMOS compatible high speed optical modulators for communication band wavelengths based on long range plasmon waveguides as well as plasmon modulators coupled to conventional dielectric waveguides. The modulators will be a factor of ten smaller than competing technologies.