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Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Design, Fabrication, and Experimental Characterization of Plasmonic Photoconductive Terahertz Emitters
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Atomic Scale Plasmonic Switch.

Alexandros Emboras1, Jens Niegemann1, Ping Ma1

  • 1Institute of Electromagnetic Fields (IEF), ETH Zurich , 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.

Nano Letters
|December 17, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Researchers developed an atomic-scale plasmonic switch, enabling digital optical switching by relocating individual atoms. This breakthrough paves the way for highly scalable, integrated quantum devices controlling photons at the atomic level.

Area of Science:

  • Quantum physics
  • Nanotechnology
  • Materials science

Background:

  • Moore's Law scaling in electronics is approaching atomic limits.
  • Photonics research devices are currently at the micrometer scale, lagging behind electronics.
  • Scaling photonics to the atomic level is a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate that photonic scaling is also limited by the atom.
  • To introduce an electrically controlled plasmonic switch operating at the atomic scale.
  • To explore the potential for integrated quantum devices at the atomic level.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of an electrically controlled plasmonic switch.
  • Utilizing the relocation of individual or few atoms within a plasmonic cavity.
Keywords:
Atomic contactsab initio calculationlocal oxidationmemristorquantum plasmonicssilicon photonicssurface plasmons

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  • Characterizing optical switching behavior and power consumption.

    • Main Results:

    • Demonstrated reversible digital optical switching with a 9.2 dB extinction ratio.
    • Achieved operation at room temperature up to MHz frequencies.
    • Reported femtojoule (fJ) power consumption per switch operation.

    Conclusions:

    • Photonic scaling is achievable down to the atomic level.
    • The atomic-scale plasmonic switch enables control of photons at the single-atom level.
    • Opens perspectives for fully integrated, scalable chip platforms for optics, electronics, and memory.