Metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic waveguide devices for manipulating light at the nanoscale

Abstract

We review some of the recent advances in the development of subwavelength plasmonic devices for manipulating light at the nanoscale, drawing examples from our own work in metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) plasmonic waveguide devices. We introduce bends, splitters, and mode converters for MDM waveguides with no additional loss. We also demonstrate that optical gain provides a mechanism for on/off switching in MDM plasmonic waveguides. Highly efficient compact couplers between dielectric waveguides and MDM waveguides are also introduced.