Silicon-Integrated Next-Generation Plasmonic Devices for Energy-Efficient Semiconductor Applications

Abstract: Silicon-based integrated photonics has demonstrated significant advances in miniaturization and performance, yet critical challenges remain in achieving efficient on-chip communication at high bandwidths. Plasmonic devices on silicon and silicon-on-insulator substrates offer a promising solution, enabling subwavelength light confinement and enhanced light-matter interactions through hybrid modes. However, integrating traditional plasmonic materials like gold and silver into silicon-based platforms presents significant challenges, particularly due to their incompatibility with standard silicon processing techniques and their increased optical losses at longer wavelengths, which can hinder performance in near-infrared applications. Plasmonic devices, leveraging advances in device architectures, have the potential to close these performance gaps and enable the next generation of high-speed, on-chip data communication. This review explores recent progress in silicon-integrated hybrid-mode plasmonic devices, highlighting the potential of transparent conductive oxides like indium tin oxide for low-loss and tunable operation. Key device topologies including coupled hybrid plasmonic waveguides and dielectric-based heterostructures are examined, along with fabrication techniques and practical considerations. By critically comparing various plasmonic approaches and identifying their respective advantages and limitations, a path toward realizing the full potential of plasmonics in shaping the future of high-performance, silicon-based integrated photonics is charted.