Directional coupler and nonlinear Mach-Zehnder interferometer based on metal-insulator-metal plasmonic waveguide

Directional coupler (DC) and nonlinear Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on metal-insulator-metal (MIM) plasmonic waveguide are investigated numerically. We show that the coupling length increases almost linearly with the wavelength and this property is utilized in the design of wavelength division multiplexer (WDM). A nonlinear MZI, with one branch filled with Kerr nonlinear medium, is built to ensure controlling light with light. Employing nonlinear processes including self-phase modulation (SPM) and cross-phase modulation (XPM), intensity-based router and all-optical switch are realized.