Direct Conversion of Free Space Millimeter Waves to Optical Domain by Plasmonic Modulator Antenna.

Salamin, Yannick; Heni, Wolfgang; Haffner, Christian; Fedoryshyn, Yuriy; Hoessbacher, Claudia; Bonjour, Romain; Zahner, Marco; Hillerkuss, David et al. · Nano Lett · 2015

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

A scheme for the direct conversion of millimeter and THz waves to optical signals is introduced. The compact device consists of a plasmonic phase modulator that is seamlessly cointegrated with an antenna. Neither high-speed electronics nor electronic amplification is required to drive the modulator. A built-in enhancement of the electric field by a factor of 35,000 enables the direct conversion of millimeter-wave signals to the optical domain. This high enhancement is obtained via a resonant antenna that is directly coupled to an optical field by means of a plasmonic modulator. The suggested concept provides a simple and cost-efficient alternative solution to conventional schemes where millimeter-wave signals are first converted to the electrical domain before being up-converted to the optical domain.