1xN plasmonic power splitters based on metal-insulator-metal waveguides

Novel plasmonic power splitters constructed from a rectangular ring resonator with direct-connected input and output waveguides are presented and numerically investigated. An analytical model and systematic approach for obtaining the appropriate design parameters are developed by designing an equivalent lumped circuit model for the transmission lines and applying it to plasmonic waveguides. This approach can dramatically reduce simulation times required for determining the desired locations of the output waveguides. Three examples are shown, the 1 × 3, 1 × 4, and 1 × 5 equal-power splitters, with the design method being easily extended to any number of output ports.