Tunable narrow band filter based on a surface plasmon polaritons Bragg grating with a metal-insulator-metal waveguide

A tunable narrow band filter based on a Bragg grating with surface plasmon polaritons is developed and investigated numerically by using the finite-difference time-domain method. A defect state with narrow transmission peak (about 15nm) is shown to appear in the bandgap by introduction of a defect into the Bragg grating, which can thus be used as filtering device. We also show that double-channel filtering can be realized by introducing two defects into the Bragg grating. The resonant wavelengths in the bandgap are related to the position of defects and the refractive index of the insulator. Our results may provide useful information in the design of tunable narrow band filters in nano-circuits.