title: Design of an integrated coupler for the electrical generation of surface plasmon polaritons.
abstract: Recently a surface plasmon polariton (SPP) source based on an electrically operated semiconductor laser has been demonstrated. Here we present a numerical investigation of the light-SPP coupling process involved in the device. The problem consists in the coupling via a diffraction grating between a dielectric waveguide mode--the laser mode--and a SPP mode. The issue of the coupling efficiency is discussed, and the dependence on various geometrical parameters of both the grating and the dielectric waveguide is studied in detail. A maximum coupling efficiency of ≈24% is obtained at telecom wavelengths, which could lead to a high-power integrated SPP source when combined to a laser medium.
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Electronique Fondamentale, Université Paris Sud and CNRS, UMR8622, Orsay, France.
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Tetienne
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bousseksou
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Costantini
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: De Wilde
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Colombelli