Optical modulation using anti-crossing between paired amplitude and phase resonators

Area of Science:

• Photonics and optical engineering
• Integrated optics
• Semiconductor device physics

Background:

• Traditional microring modulators face limitations in sensitivity and footprint.
• Controlling waveguide-resonator coupling is a common but less sensitive method for microring modulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a new optical modulator design utilizing anti-crossing in coupled silicon microrings.
• To achieve independent amplitude and phase modulation with enhanced sensitivity.

Main Methods:

• Design and simulation of coupled silicon microring resonators exploiting anti-crossing phenomena.
• Characterization of modulator performance, including sensitivity, ON-OFF contrast, and footprint.

Main Results:

• Achieved over 25x improvement in sensitivity compared to previous designs.
• Demonstrated an ON-OFF contrast of 14 dB.
• Realized an ultra-compact device footprint of 0.003 mm(2).

Conclusions:

• The enhanced sensitivity allows direct driving by low-amplitude (less than 1 V) digital CMOS electrical signals.
• The proposed design offers a promising solution for high-performance, compact optical modulators.
• This advancement could impact integrated photonic circuits and optical communication systems.