Sensitivity and detection limit of dual-waveguide coupled microring resonator biosensors

We show that a linear relation exists between the device sensitivity and the quality （Q） factor of a dual- waveguide coupled microring resonator optical biosensor when the optimal conditions are satisfied. We also show that the detection limit depends on the loss coefficient and signal-to-nosie ratio （SNR） of the overall system, rather than the circumference of the ring. For a microring resonator sensor whose Q factor is 20000, the detection limit is found to be about 10-7 with 30-dB SNR, which is in good agreement with reported experimental data. These results indicate that loss reduction is the top priority in the design and fabrication of highly sensitive microring resonator optical biosensors.     

Slotted Photonic Crystal Microring Resonators

We propose using a slotted photonic crystal nanobeam to construct a microring resonator. The transmission characteristics of the slotted photonic crystal nanobeam and the microring resonator are demonstrated by two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulation, and the mechanism of these characteristics is analyzed considering the introduction of the slot. The refractive index sensitivity of the slotted photonic crystal microring resonator is evaluated to be larger than those of a slot waveguide microring resonator and a nonslotted photonic crystal microring resonator.     

聚合物波导微环谐振器的无热化设计

从波导微环谐振器的谐振方程出发,推导出了波导微环谐振器的无热化条件和谐振波长温度依赖特性表达式,分析了硅衬底PSQ聚合物波导微环谐振器滤波功能的温度特性。通过选择合适的聚合物衬底来取代传统的硅衬底,可极大地减小聚合物波导微环谐振器的温度敏感性,给出了聚合物衬底选择的方法。研究结果表明,所设计的全聚合物波导微环谐振器,在温度从20～65℃范围内谐振波长漂移量最大值为-0.0085 nm,温度依赖波长漂移率最大值为-0.00090 nm/K,实现了无热化。     

Single-photon all-optical switching using coupled microring resonators

We study the nonlinear phase response of a microring resonator coupled to a bus waveguide and the use of this nonlinear phase shift to store information in the microring resonator and enhance the switching characteristics of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). By introducing coupling between adjacent microring resonators, the switching characteristics of the MZI can be exponentially enhanced as a function of the number of microring resonators, when compared to the linear enhancement for uncoupled resonators. With only a few moderate-finesse microring resonators, the switching power can be reduced to attowatt level, allowing for photonic switching devices that operate at single-photon level in ordinary optical waveguides.      

传输矩阵法分析微环谐振器阵列传输特性

微环谐振器可用作未来高密度、超大规模集成光路的基本构件,其重要发展方向之一是多环化、阵列化,微环谐振器阵列近来成为研究的热点。基于定向耦合器、环形谐振腔、直波导腔的基本单元传输矩阵,建立了用于分析微环谐振器阵列传输特性的传输矩阵模型。讨论了列间距对传输特性的影响,并数值模拟了不同尺度的奇数行和偶数行情况下谐振器阵列的传输特性。结合此传输矩阵模型,讨论了通过改变微环谐振器阵列的尺度以及耦合系数以实现滤波特性改善的方案。最后数值研究了最小尺度微环谐振器阵列传输特性与腔间耦合系数的关系。     

双微环谐振腔耦合的双波长半导体激光器（英）

提出一种新颖的单片集成双微环耦合的双波长半导体激光器结构。集成于激光腔内的2个微环谐振腔作为模式选择滤波器,通过游标效应选择谐振模式,同时还可作为等效的反射镜面以形成行波腔。这种无需解理的行波激光腔代替了需要解理面的法布里-珀罗驻波腔。理论仿真表明,跟驻波腔结构相比,行波腔双微环激光器结构简单,可获得约34 mA的较低的阈值电流和大于31 dB的边模抑制比。合理地控制有源区的增益峰值和谐振模式分布,该激光器能提供一致性和稳定性较好的双波长激光输出。     

双微环谐振腔耦合的双波长半导体激光器（英）

提出一种新颖的单片集成双微环耦合的双波长半导体激光器结构。集成于激光腔内的2个微环谐振腔作为模式选择滤波器,通过游标效应选择谐振模式,同时还可作为等效的反射镜面以形成行波腔。这种无需解理的行波激光腔代替了需要解理面的法布里-珀罗驻波腔。理论仿真表明,跟驻波腔结构相比,行波腔双微环激光器结构简单,可获得约34 mA的较低的阈值电流和大于31 dB的边模抑制比。合理地控制有源区的增益峰值和谐振模式分布,该激光器能提供一致性和稳定性较好的双波长激光输出。     

Novel Propagation Analysis of Coupled Waveguides by Coupled Mode Expansion and Segmentation

To optimize the coupling efficiency between the busline waveguide and the ring resonator in a vertically coupled microring resonator, we developed a new method using local normal modes and the segmentation along the propagation axis.     

Performance Investigation of Photonic Crystal-Based Microring Resonator for Optical Signal Processing

Abstract

A detailed theoretical analysis is presented to characterize wave propagation at 1,550 nm inside a glass (SiO₂) microring resonator implemented using photonic crystal technology. A photonic crystal reflection is used at each microring resonator corner to enhance the bending efficiency. The characteristics of both photonic crystal beam splitter and microring resonator bending losses are analyzed and investigated using both effective refractive index and finite difference time domain methods. Analytical expressions are also derived to describe the field enhancement inside the microring resonator, the transfer function of the microring resonator, and the main parameters characterizing the resonator such as resonator band width and quality factor. The analysis is also extended to characterize a drop filter implemented using photonic crystal-based microring resonator. The results indicate clearly that the effective refractive index method can give accurate results if one starts the calculations with finite difference time domain-estimated beam splitter parameters. Further, bending efficiency as high as 99% can be obtained using a ten-post layer photonic crystal mirror at each microring resonator corner.     

Modeling and analysis of silicon-on-insulator elliptical microring resonators for future high-density integrated photonic circuits

We propose a novel resonator containing an elliptical microring based on a silicon-on-insulator platform. Simulations using the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method show that the novel elliptical microring can efficiently enhance the mode coupling between straight bus waveguides and resonator waveguides or between adjacent resonators while preserving relatively high intrinsic quality factors with large free spectral range. The proposed resonator would be an alternative choice for future high-density integrated photonic circuits.     

Analysis of microring filter with two embedded microring

In this paper, a microring resonator with two embedded microring (MRTEM) has been presented and studied theoretically. Transfer matrix method (TMM) has been used to simulate MRTEM and analyze the relations between add/drop spectrum and embedded microring arrangements. Three kinds of embedded microring arrangements have been proposed and analyzed by TMM. The theoretical and simulation results show that the Q factor of our structure is higher than that of traditional microring structure and the spectrum of MRTEM is independent on embedded arrangements.     

Predistortion techniques for synthesizing coupled microring filters with loss

A general method based on the predistortion technique is presented for determining the optimum coupling parameters of multiple-coupled microring filters in the presence of known uniform resonator loss. The technique involves predistorting the filter transfer function by shifting its poles and zeros to compensate for loss in the microring resonators due to material absorption, surface roughness scattering, coupling loss and bending loss. It is shown that by sacrificing some in-band insertion loss, both the amplitude and group delay responses of the filter can be recovered when loss is present. Application of the method to synthesizing lossy microring filters in both the digital z-domain and analog s-domain will be presented. The proposed technique is general in that it can be applied to both amplitude and phase filters constructed of coupled microresonators in the most general two-dimensional coupling topology.     

Microdisk resonator filters made of dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides

Microdisk resonator filters, an alternative to microring resonator filters, are studied by means of vectorial three dimensional finite element method simulations. Their performance characteristics are highlighted for different microdisk radii, and compared with those of the respective, footprint-wise, microring filters. We show that microdisk filters are advantageous, as the resonator involved exhibits smaller radiation losses. Extinction ratios as high as 30 dB are possible by properly tuning the gap separating the waveguide from the microdisk in each case. Transmission dips due to higher-radial-order modes that drastically change the transmission picture appear only for very large microdisk radii.     

Integrated photonic glucose biosensor using a vertically coupled microring resonator in polymers

A photonic glucose biosensor incorporating a vertically coupled polymeric microring resonator was proposed and accomplished. The concentration of a glucose solution was estimated by observing the shift in the resonant wavelength of the resonator. For achieving higher sensitivity the contrast between the effective refractive index of the polymeric waveguide and that of the analyte was minimized. Actually, the effective refractive index of the polymeric waveguide (n = ∼1.390) was substantially close to that (n = ∼1.333) of the fresh solution with no glucose. The fabricated resonator sensor with the free spectral range of 0.66 nm yielded a sensitivity of ∼280 pm/(g/dL), which corresponds to ∼200 nm/RIU (refractive index units) as a refractometric sensor, and provided a detection limit of refractive index change on the order of 10⁻⁵ RIU.     

Wide Range Center Wavelength Trimming of Vertically Coupled Microring Resonator Filter by Direct UV Irradiation to SiN Ring Core

A 12.1nm wide trimming range of the center wavelength of vertically coupled microring resonator filter was demonstrated by a direct UV irradiation to the ring core made of SiN.     

Analysis of optical time domain demultiplexer using microring resonators

A time domain optical demultiplexer using electrooptic microring resonator is proposed. The switching window with pico-second order width is generated by using a sinusoidal electrical control voltage to shift the refractive index of the material. The modulation characteristics and switching window of the microring resonator are studied. The dependences of the width and extinction ratio of the switching window on the control voltage are analyzed. The demultiplexing performance of a 40–10 Gbps system is evaluated by numerical simulation technology. Results show that switching windows with required width and extinction ratio can be generated.     

Box-like spectral response of 2-D microring resonator arrays

In terms of the coupled mode theory and the transfer matrix technique, novel formulas of the transfer functions are presented for a 2-D microring resonator array. By using these formulas, transmission characteristics are analyzed for this kind of Si based polymer device. Simulation shows that by means of parallel-cascading multiple microrings in every filter element, the passband can be flattened, and the box-like spectral response can be formed; in terms of series-cascading such several filter elements, the passband becomes precipitous, and the non-resonant light and the crosstalk become weak.     

Electro-optically tunable microring resonators on lithium niobate

Electro-optical tuning of a microring resonator fabricated on lithium niobate (LiNbO3) is presented. The device structure, including microring resonator and couplers, is designed in detail and is produced by titanium diffusion on the wet-etched LiNbO3 ridge surface. The resonance wavelengths for TM and TE polarizations can be tuned by electro-optic effect. The output characteristics of through port and drop port in the microring resonators are measured, and the effect of applied voltage on the shift of resonant wavelength is discussed. The presented microring resonators have the features of fast tuning speed, high material stability, bidirection wavelength shift, and no heating interference. Realization of such a microring resonator on LiNbO3 makes the utilization of electro-optic tuning and nonlinear effects in the versatile photonic applications of microring resonators achievable.     

Demonstration of defect modes in coupled microresonator arrays fabricated in silicon-on-insulator technology

We show experimentally the existence of defect modes in mutually coupled microring resonator arrays fabricated in silicon-on-insulator technology. The movements of donor-like and acceptor-like modes are demonstrated for various defect lengths, in good agreement with earlier theoretical prediction.     

9.4 nm Tunable Vertically Coupled Microring Resonator Filter by Thermo-Optic Effect

A wide range (9.4nm) tuning of vertically coupled microring resonator filter was demonstrated utilizing a large TO coefficient of polymer. The power consumption was about 60mW and no degradation of filter response was observed.