The aim of this thesis is to establish a platform for implementing nanoscale plasmonic slot waveguide (PSW) devices that can interface with dielectric technology for hybrid silicon-plasmonic interconnect applications. For waveguide excitation, an orthogonal junction coupler that operates based on momentum matching is analyzed and then experimentally demonstrated to have coupling efficiency of 50 +/- 2 % between 450 nm wide silicon waveguide and 50 nm wide PSW across a 200 nm bandwidth. Next, for designing scalable optical components with multiple-input multiple-output capability and high fabrication tolerance, two dimensional PSW mesh structure that utilizes simultaneous power distribution and interference within a network of intersecting PSW junctions is introduced. Finally, a closed-form model for PSW mesh structures is derived by incorporating the characteristic impedance model into the scattering matrix formalism. The model can handle arbitrary combination of junctions and has less than 5 % discrepancy when compared to Finite-Difference Time-Domain results.

The aim of this thesis is to establish a platform for implementing nanoscale plasmonic slot waveguide (PSW) devices that can interface with dielectric technology for hybrid silicon-plasmonic interconnect applications. For waveguide excitation, an orthogonal junction coupler that operates based on momentum matching is analyzed and then experimentally demonstrated to have coupling efficiency of 50 +/- 2 % between 450 nm wide silicon waveguide and 50 nm wide PSW across a 200 nm bandwidth. Next, for designing scalable optical components with multiple-input multiple-output capability and high fabrication tolerance, two dimensional PSW mesh structure that utilizes simultaneous power distribution and interference within a network of intersecting PSW junctions is introduced. Finally, a closed-form model for PSW mesh structures is derived by incorporating the characteristic impedance model into the scattering matrix formalism. The model can handle arbitrary combination of junctions and has less than 5 % discrepancy when compared to Finite-Difference Time-Domain results.