A review of crosstalk research for plasmonic waveguides

Abstract

Plasmonic waveguides, as a competitive candidate, have been widely studied in rapid developing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and optical interconnection fields. However, crosstalk between plasmonic waveguides is a critical issue that has to be considered in practice. Actually, crosstalk dominates the ultimate integration density of the planar photonic circuits. This paper reviews the recent research work on evaluation methods and crosstalk suppression approaches of plasmonic waveguides. Three crosstalk evaluation methods based on comparison of specific parameters of waveguides have been summarized. Furthermore, four specific approaches to reduce crosstalk have been illustrated as two categories according to their impacts on waveguide performances and the whole circuit. One means of crosstalk suppression is changing the placement of waveguides, which could maintain the transmission characteristics of the original waveguide. The other means is inserting medium, which has the advantage of occupying smaller space compared to the first method. Consequently, to suppress crosstalk between plasmonic waveguides, one should choose suitable approach.