CMOS-Compatible Hybrid Plasmonic Waveguide for Subwavelength Light Confinement and On-Chip Integration

For development of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible plasmonic waveguides, a microstrip-based hybrid surface plasmonic waveguide is proposed and the characteristics of its guided subwavelength hybrid modes are investigated by the finite-element method. The multiple dielectric layers with a high refractive index contrast provide subwavelength confinement of light. The guided mode is like a combination of a surface plasmon polariton mode and a dielectric slab mode. The field intensity of the guided hybrid mode is confined more in the core layer. Thus, the propagation loss is significantly reduced. The proposed hybrid surface plasmonic waveguide can be exploited for on-chip integration of Si-based electronic circuits and planar lightwave circuits.