title: Sharp and asymmetric transmission response in metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic waveguides containing Kerr nonlinear media.
abstract: Based on the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), we analytically and numerically investigate the transmission response in metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) plasmonic waveguides with a side coupled nanocavity (SCNC). By filling the nanocavity with a Kerr nonlinear medium, the position of the resonant dip in the transmission spectrum can be tuned by the incident light intensity. The oscillation of a Fabry-Perot nanocavity formed by incorporating a finite length of the same Kerr nonlinear media into the MDM waveguide acts as a background for the transmission response of the system and induces a sharp and asymmetric response line shape. As a result, the wavelength shift required for the plasmonic device to be switched from the maximum to the minimum transmission can be reduced by half in a structure less than 400 nm long. Such an effect may be potentially applied to constructing SPP-based all-optical switching with low power threshold at nanoscale.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Photonic Information Technology, School for Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Jian
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Qiao-Feng
authors.initials: QF
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Li-Jun
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D055096:Optical Devices; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014159:Transducers
chemical_list: D008670:Metals