Nano-opto-mechanical effects in plasmonic waveguides

In order to achieve interaction between light beams, a mediating material object is required. Nonlinear materials are commonly used for this purpose. Here a new approach to control light with light, based on a nano-opto-mechanical system integrated in a plasmonic waveguide is proposed. Optomechanics of a free-floating resonant nanoparticle in a subwavelength plasmonic V-groove waveguide is studied. It is shown that nanoparticle auto-oscillations in the waveguide induced by a control light result in the periodic modulation of a transmitted plasmonic signal. The modulation depth of 10% per single nanoparticle of 25 nm diameter with the clock frequencies of tens of MHz and the record low energy-per-bit energies of 10-18 J is observed. The frequency of auto-oscillations depends on the intensity of the continuous control light. The efficient modulation and deep-subwavelength dimensions make this nano-optomechanical system of significant interest for opto-electronic and opto-fluidic technologies.