Demonstration of an on-chip TE-pass polarizer using a silicon hybrid plasmonic grating

Abstract

An on-chip, high extinction ratio transverse electric (TE)-pass polarizer using a silicon hybrid plasmonic grating is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Utilizing plasmonics to manipulate the effective index and mode distribution, the transverse magnetic mode is reflected and absorbed, while the TE mode passes through with relatively low propagation loss. For a 6-μm-long device, the measurement result shows that the extinction ratio in the wavelength range of 1.52 to 1.58 μm varies from 24 to 33.7 dB and the insertion loss is 2.8–4.9 dB. Moreover, the structure exhibits large alignment tolerance and is compatible with silicon-on-insulator fabrication technology.