Alcatel Lucent

Benard Yurke

Girsh Blumberg

According to one embodiment of the invention, a plasmonic device has a beam splitter adapted to split a surface-plasmon (SP) input beam into first and second SP beams and direct them along first and second propagation paths, respectively. One of the propagation paths has a plasmonic-beam interaction region adapted to controllably change the phase of the corresponding split beam within that interaction region in response to an SP control signal applied thereto. The plasmonic device further has an SP beam mixer adapted to receive the first and second beams from their respective propagation paths and to mix them to produce an SP output signal. In various configurations, the plasmonic device can operate as a plasmonic-signal amplifier, a plasmonic-beam router, a 1&#xd7;2 plasmonic-beam switch, and/or a plasmonic modulator.

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Boise, ID, United States of America

Benard Yurke