odulated beam of light. In this way, the data bits are encoded in the phase of the light."
Their recent results revealed that the electro-optic modulator reliably converts data flows of about 40 gigabits per second. It uses the infrared light of 1480 - 1600 nanometers in wavelength usually encountered in the broadband glass fiber network. Even temperatures of up to 85°C do not cause any operation failures. The presented device is the most compact high-speed phase modulator in the world. It can be produced by well-established CMOS fabrication processes. Integration into current chip architectures is hence possible. "The device combines many advantages of other systems, such as a high modulation speed, compact design, and energy efficiency. In the future, plasmonic devices might be used for signal processing in the terahertz range," says Christian Koos, spokesperson of KIT's Helmholtz International Research School of Teratronics (HIRST), which focuses on merging photonic and electronic techniques for high-speed signal processing. "Hundreds of plasmonic modulators might fit on a chip and data rates in the range of terabits per second might be reached."
Presently, information and communication systems consume about 10 percent of the electricity in Germany. This includes computers and smartphones of individual users as well as servers at large computing centers. As data traffic grows exponentially, new approaches are required to increasing the capacity of such systems and reducing their energy consumption at the same time. Plasmonic components might be of decisive importance in this respect.
The present paper is part of the EU project NAVOLCHI, Nano Scale Disruptive Silicon-Plasmonic Platform for Chip-to-Chip Interconnection. This project is aimed at using the interaction of light and electrons in metal surfaces for the development of novel components for data transmission between chips. "Conventional electric chip-to-chip data transmission reaches its limits," says the present project coordinator Manfred Kohl, KIT. "NAVOLCHI is about to overcome those limits using optical technology." It is funded under the 7th Research Framework Programme of the EU and has a budget of EUR 3.4 million.
About Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a public corporation according to the legislation of the state of Baden-Württemberg. It fulfills the mission of a university and the mission of a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. Research activities focus on energy, the natural and built environment as well as on society and technology and cover the whole range extending from fundamental aspects to application. With about 9000 employees, including nearly 6000 staff members in the science and education sector, and 24000 students, KIT is one of the biggest research and education institutions in Europe. Work of KIT is based on the knowledge triangle of research, teaching, and innovation.
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