Patent ID: 9494715
Filing Date: 2016-11-15
CPC Classification: B82Y,G02B,G02F,Y10S

Claim Text:
1. An optical modulator, comprising: a substrate; a metal layer on the substrate, the metal layer having a grooved channel; a dielectric layer on the metal layer and in the grooved channel; and a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) on the dielectric layer and in the grooved channel, the grooved channel being a plasmonic waveguide, wherein the plasmonic waveguide is configured to form an accumulation layer in response to a voltage applied across the TCO and the metal layer such that the accumulation layer cuts off a fundamental mode of an optical signal in the plasmonic waveguide and such that the plasmonic waveguide exhibits an extinction ratio of at least about 3.0 dB/μm.