Open AccessOptical properties of metal-multi-insulator-metal plasmonic waveguides
Author(s) -
XiangTian Kong,
Weiguo Yan,
Zu-Bin Li,
Jianguo Tian
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.20.012133
Subject(s) - figure of merit , metal insulator metal , refractive index , plasmon , materials science , optics , metal , insulator (electricity) , nanometre , optoelectronics , physics , quantum mechanics , voltage , metallurgy , capacitor
We theoretically study the plasmonic modes in metal-multi-insulator-metal (MMIM) waveguides. Two types of symmetric MMIM structures consisting of three insulators are investigated thoroughly. The effective refractive index, energy confinement, propagation length, and figure of merit are given in terms of geometric parameters. Due to the step index modulation, these properties of MMIM structures differ from the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure. Compared with the corresponding MIM structures, MMIM structures can possess either better energy confinement or larger propagation length, which depends on the geometric parameters and the index distribution. Propagation length of up to 10(3) µm and a figure of merit of up to 10(4) are observed for MMIM structure with core thickness of several hundred nanometers.