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Electro-optic directed logic circuit based on microring resonators for XOR/XNOR operations
Lei Zhang1, Jianfeng Ding, Yonghui Tian
1State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics and Optoelectronic System Laboratory, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 912, Beijing 100083, China.
Optics Express
|June 21, 2012
Summary
This study demonstrates simultaneous bitwise XOR and XNOR logic operations using silicon microring resonators. The electro-optic circuit achieves high-speed data processing by modulating light signals with electrical inputs.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and optical computing
- Integrated photonics
- Semiconductor device physics
Background:
- Microring resonators (MRRs) are key components in integrated photonics for wavelength-selective filtering and signal processing.
- Electro-optic modulation offers high-speed signal manipulation essential for optical computing.
- Plasma dispersion and thermo-optic effects are utilized for modulating light in silicon photonic devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To implement and demonstrate bitwise XOR and XNOR logic operations using silicon microring resonators.
- To investigate the use of carrier-injection modulation via PIN diodes for electro-optic control.
- To address fabrication imperfections in MRRs using microheaters for precise wavelength alignment.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of cascaded silicon microring resonators (MRRs).
- Integration of PIN diodes for carrier-injection modulation based on the plasma dispersion effect.
- Utilizing microheaters for thermo-optic compensation of resonance wavelength mismatch.
- Applying electrical signals for modulating optical signals to perform logic operations.
Main Results:
- Successful implementation of a logic circuit capable of performing XOR and XNOR operations.
- Demonstration of simultaneous bitwise XOR and XNOR operations.
- Achieved operation speed of 100 Mbit/s for both logic functions.
Conclusions:
- Electro-optic logic circuits based on cascaded silicon MRRs can effectively perform complex logic operations.
- The combined use of plasma dispersion and thermo-optic effects enables precise control and compensation for high-performance optical logic.
- This work contributes to the advancement of silicon photonics for high-speed optical computing applications.
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