Sub-volt broadband hybrid plasmonic-vanadium dioxide switches

The insulator-metal phase transition of a correlated-electron material, vanadium dioxide, is used to demonstrate electrically controlled, compact, broadband, and low voltage plasmonic switches. The devices are micron-scale in length and operate near a wavelength of 1550 nm. The switching bandwidths exceed 100 nm and 400 mV is sufficient to attain extinction ratios in excess of 20 dB. The results illustrate the promise of using phase transition materials for efficient and ultra-compact plasmonic switches and modulators. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4790834]