With advances in the technology, high-density on-chip electrical interconnects are not able to meet current technology demands due to inherent RC limitation. Silicon photonics is an emerging technology with the prospects of electronics and photonics integration on a chip, which can improve system performance and open up numerous design opportunities. The potential of optical interconnects have been investigated immensely for compact design, strong light confinement, high bandwidth, low crosstalk, low loss propagation, in the design of high density, next generation on-chip systems. Plasmonics is considered to be the most promising candidate for the miniaturization of photonic components, which can provide subwavelength confinement by coupling electromagnetic energy to electron oscillations at metallic-dielectric interface leading to localized electromagnetic field. Graphene, an allotrope of carbon with unique optoelectronic properties and silicon compatibility has prompted intense research in graphene based electrical and optical applications, ranging from the terahertz to the visible spectral region. It has been shown as a promising candidate in planar photonic circuit design, paving the way for realistic applications. This paper analyzes the mode characteristics i.e. effective mode index, propagation distance, and field distribution of graphene integrated plasmonic waveguide architectures. The transmission through the waveguide is directly affected by location and tunability of graphene refractive index. To enhance graphene interaction with light, it is placed at the maximal electric field to increase absorption through graphene for the design of compact electro-absorption modulator. The simulation results show agreement with the analytical models.

Date Published: 24 August 2017
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 10345, Active Photonic Platforms IX, 1034518 (24 August 2017); doi: 10.1117/12.2274708

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10345:
Active Photonic Platforms IX
Ganapathi S. Subramania; Stavroula Foteinopoulou, Editor(s)