High-contrast modulation of light with light by control of surface plasmon polariton wave coupling
Abstract
We have demonstrated a new mechanism for modulating light with light by controlling the efficiency with which light is coupled into a plasmon polariton wave. An optical fluence of 15 mJ/cm2 in the control channel is sufficient to achieve nearly a 10-fold intensity modulation of the signal beam reflected from a Glass/MgF2/Ga structure. The mechanism depends on a nanoscale light-induced structural transformation in the gallium layer and has transient switching times of the order of a few tens of nanoseconds. It offers high modulation contrast for signals in the visible and near infrared spectral ranges.
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