A silicon-based electrical source for surface plasmon polaritons

After nearly forty-five years of scaling driven by Moore's Law, the silicon microelectronics world is now defined by length scales that are some ten times smaller than the dimensions of typical micro-optical components. This size mismatch poses an important challenge for those working to integrate photonics with CMOS technology. One promising solution is to move from optical components made with dielectric materials to metal-dielectric interfaces, where optical modes called surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) offer unique opportunities to confine and control light [1]. Research groups working in the rapidly developing field of plasmonics have now demonstrated many passive components that suggest the potential of SPPs for applications in sensing and integrated optical communication. Recently, the first active plasmonic devices based on III-V materials [2] and organic materials [3] have been reported. Here we demonstrate that a silicon-based electrical source for SPPs can be fabricated using established microtechnology processes that are compatible with backend CMOS technology.