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arXiv · 2606.31438

Plasmonic-cavity Modulator for the Mid-IR with a Semi-transparent and Nonlinear Heavily-doped Semiconductor Mirror

Tommaso Venanzi·Raffaella Polito·Andrea Rossetti·Markus Ludwig·Daniele Brida·Adel Bousseksou·Isabelle Sagnes·Gregoire Beaudoin·Raffaele Colombelli·Antonio Valletta·Andrea Notargiacomo·Francesco Mattioli·Gonzalo Alvarez-Pérez·Cristian Ciracì·Valeria Giliberti·Marialilia Pea·Michele Ortolani·Huatian Hu
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Abstract

We present a free-space plasmonic modulator based on a single heavily-doped semiconductor layer. We investigate its ability to modulate both the linear and nonlinear response at mid-infrared frequencies slightly below the plasma frequency of the semiconductor. We demonstrate electric control of the linear transmittance and reflectance, and of the efficiency of third-harmonic generation with a field-effect gate structure. We discuss further performance optimization of the device in terms of modulation speed and depth towards a fast modulator with very simple active material requirements. Our results establish a viable route toward practical plasmonic modulators and mixers operating in the mid-infrared atmospheric window available for free-space communications at wavelengths between 8 and 12 um.

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Tommaso Venanzi, Raffaella Polito, Andrea Rossetti, Markus Ludwig, Daniele Brida, Adel Bousseksou, Isabelle Sagnes, Gregoire Beaudoin, Raffaele Colombelli, Antonio Valletta, Andrea Notargiacomo, Francesco Mattioli, Gonzalo Alvarez-Pérez, Cristian Ciracì, Valeria Giliberti, Marialilia Pea, Michele Ortolani, Huatian Hu. 2026-06-30. Plasmonic-cavity Modulator for the Mid-IR with a Semi-transparent and Nonlinear Heavily-doped Semiconductor Mirror. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.31438

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