Design of a hybrid plasmonic waveguide device using a trench structure

Abstract

A hybrid plasmonic waveguide device was designed using a trench structure. This waveguide device was designed to improve the affinity of plasmonic devices with optical circuits by connecting them with traditional waveguide structures. The waveguide device consists of three structural segments, comprising two traditional waveguide sections for input and transmission and a hybrid plasmonic waveguide. The designed waveguide structure was evaluated using numerical analysis techniques such as the finite-difference time-domain method. The deviceʼs transmission property affects the interference between the guided light and the surface plasmon polaritons. Controlling the length of the hybrid waveguide device, which is composed of a traditional waveguide coated with a gold layer, allows the transmission intensity of the device to be controlled. The deviceʼs transmission characteristic can be controlled based on the relationship between the wavelength of the incident light and the length of the hybrid waveguide device. The device will transmit only specific incident light wavelengths because the length of the hybrid plasmonic waveguide remains constant. The characteristics of this device indicate potential for applications to nanoscale devices, optical integrated circuits and plasmonic sensors.