Plasmonics offers a novel approach to overcome the speed limitations of photonics. More importantly plasmonics is a high-speed solution providing lowest power operation on the smallest footprint with a path for CMOS compatible fabrication. In this plenary talk, after an introduction we will discuss latest results on novel modulators, detectors or THz sensors. We will then discuss challenges ahead as well as opportunities of this new field.
A plenary speaker presentation by Juerg Leuthold, Professor ETH Zurich. He has always been fascinated by fundamental physics that enables operation at ever higher speed. He is also thrilled to reduce the power consumption and to make optical devices smaller and tinier.
According to him the world needs solutions to enhance the capabilities and reduce the power consumption of current processors and the world needs solutions to more efficiently exchange information from the chip-level up to the global level. Integrated optics and photonics – and he adds “plasmonics” are key in solving these pending challenges.
About Juerg Leuthold
Juerg Leuthold is the head of the department of Information Science and Elecrical Engineering (D-ITET) and he is the head of the Institute of Electromagnetic Fields (IEF) of ETH Zurich, Switzerland. His interest are in the field of Photonics, Plasmonics and Microwave with an emphasis on applications in communications and sensing. In the time from 2004 until 2013 he was affiliated with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany, where he was the Head of the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics (IPQ) and the Helmholtz Institute of Microtechnology (IMT). From 1999 to 2004, he was affiliated with Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, Holmdel, NJ, USA, where he performed device and system research with III/V semiconductors and silicon photonics for applications in high-speed telecommunications. Juerg Leuthold received the Ph.D. degree in physics from ETH Zurich in Switzerland for work in the field of integrated optics and all-optical communications in 1998.
About Institute of Electromagnetic Fields (IEF), ETH Zurich
The Institute of Electromagnetic Fields (IEF) performs research on the wave and particle characteristics of electromagnetic fields at all frequencies. Of particular interest are fields in the optical, the terahertz and microwave regime.
A strong focus of the institute is on exploiting electromagnetic fields for important applications such as
- High-speed optical communications (Tbit/s superchannel, silicon photonics, plasmonics)
- Wireless communications (THz communications, beam forming,…)
- Applied photonics and plasmonics
- Photovoltaics
- Wireless power transmission
- Electromagnetics for medical applications
In practice, the IEF members work on theoretical aspects, perform numerical simulations, design, fabricate and characterize latest components. The institute has its own software library and maintains state-of-the art labs both at the ETH center as well as at the IBM Rüschlikon site.
An important aspect of the institute’s philosophy are the frequent interactions and collaborations with leading companies and universities across the globe. To maintain such relationships its members frequently travel.
For more information visit the website.
Juerg Leuthold is plenary speaker at the 2024 edition of the European Conference on Integrated Optics.