Sharp and asymmetric transmission response in metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic waveguides containing Kerr nonlinear media

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. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America