All-Optical Switching Using a Hybrid Plasmonic Donut Resonator With Photothermal Absorber

A novel hybrid plasmonic (HP) donut resonator integrated with a photothermal plasmonic absorber has been developed, which can be used as a compact all-optical switch or modulator. The radius of the fabricated HP donut resonator is 1.8 $\mu \text{m}$ , with a resonant wavelength around 1550 nm and a quality factor ( ${Q}$ factor) around 600. The photothermal plasmonic absorber is directly integrated above the HP device, which can absorb as much as 75% of impinging optical power at 1064 nm wavelength. Since the absorber is in tight contact to the Si ridge of the HP waveguide, the absorbed optical power can efficiently heat up the Si ridge, and hence change the resonant wavelength of the HP donut resonator by Si thermal expansion effect. Experimental results show that the power used for 15 dB amplitude switch is only 10 mW, with rise and fall response times around 18 and 14 $\mu \text{s}$ , respectively.