Active Plasmonics in True Data Traffic Applications: Thermo-Optic On/Off Gating Using a Silicon-Plasmonic Asymmetric Mach–Zehnder Interferometer

We present the first system-level demonstration of an active plasmonic device in 10-Gb/s data traffic conditions. An asymmetric silicon-plasmonic Mach–Zehnder interferometer with dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides serving as the electrically controlled arms, operates as thermo-optic On/Off gating element with 2.8- µ s response time and 10.8-mW power consumption.