Optical bistability effect in plasmonic racetrack resonator with high extinction ratio.

In this paper, optical bistability effect in an ultracompact plasmonic racetrack resonator with nonlinear optical Kerr medium is investigated both analytically and numerically. The properties of optical bistability and pump threshold are studied at 1.55 µm with various detuning parameters by an analytical model. The transmission switch from the upper branch to the lower branch with a pulse is also demonstrated by a finite-difference time-domain method. An extinction ratio of 97.8% and a switching time of 0.38 ps can be achieved with proper detuning parameter. Such a plasmonic resonator design provides a promising realization for highly effective optical modulators and switch.