Programmable surface electromagnetic wave coupler

Abstract

Recently, a group of novel devices based on conducting interfaces is proposed. These conducting interfaces can be implemented by using the inversion layer of MOS structures, trapped charges or depletion layer charges. It has been shown that these structures can support surface electromagnetic waves. In this paper, the coupling of surface electromagnetic waves supported by conducting interfaces is analyzed and an analytical formula is driven by using the coupled mode theory. It is shown that one can program the coupling length of this structure by applying a transverse voltage and obtain a new type of optical modulator. The results obtained by coupled mode theory are verified by solving Maxwell's equations and applying appropriate boundary conditions.