Optical Microring Resonators: Theory, Techniques, and Applications

"a detailed, cognizant account of numerous crucial aspects of optical microring resonators" – Amr S. Helmy, Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Toronto "an excellent choice for gaining an insight into the vast potential of microring resonators" – Jalil Ali, Professor, Laser Center ISI-SIR, University of Technology, Malaysia "a thorough treatment… appeal[s] to a wide range of audiences" – L. Jay Guo, Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, The University of Michigan The field of microring resonator research has seen tremendous growth over the past decade, with microring resonators now becoming a ubiquitous element in integrated photonics technology. This book fills the need for a cohesive and comprehensive treatment of the subject, given its importance and the proliferation of new research in the field. The expert author has as an introductory guide for beginners as well as a reference source for more experienced researchers. This book aims to fulfill this need by providing a concise and detailed treatment of the fundamental concepts and theories that underpin the various applications. To appeal to as wide a readership as possible, major areas of applications of microring resonators will also be covered in depth.

Table of Contents:
Elements of an optical microring resonator Dielectric optical waveguides The vectorial wave equations The Effective Index Method and solutions of the 1D slab waveguide Waveguide dispersion Propagation loss Optical modes in bent dielectric waveguides Conformal transformation of bent waveguides Resonant modes in microdisks and microrings Full-vectorial analysis of bent waveguides Coupling of waveguide modes in space The coupled mode equations Solution of the coupled mode equations Fabrication of microring resonators Summary Analytical models of microring resonators Resonance spectrum of an uncoupled microring resonator Power coupling description of a microring resonator The add-drop microring resonator The all-pass microring resonator Phase and group delay responses of a microring resonator Energy coupling description of a microring resonator Relationship between energy coupling and power coupling formalisms Summary Coupled microring optical filters Periodic arrays of microring resonators Periodic arrays of all-pass microring resonators Periodic arrays of add-drop microring resonators Arrays of serially coupled microring resonators Transfer functions of coupled microring optical filters Cascaded all-pass microring filters Serially coupled microring filters Energy coupling analysis of serially coupled microring filters Energy coupling synthesis of serially coupled microring filters Power coupling analysis of serially coupled microring filters Power coupling synthesis of serially coupled microring filters Parallel cascaded add-drop microring resonators Parallel cascaded microring doublets Two dimensional networks of coupled microring resonators Energy coupling analysis of 2D CMR networks Energy coupling synthesis of 2D CMR networks Power coupling analysis of 2D CMR networks Summary Nonlinear optics applications of microring resonators Nonlinearity in optical waveguides Intensity-dependent nonlinearity Free carrier induced nonlinear effects Wave propagation in a nonlinear optical waveguide Free carrier induced nonlinear effects in an optical waveguide Four wave mixing in a nonlinear optical waveguide Optical bistability and instability in a nonlinear microring resonator Self phase modulation and enhanced nonlinearity in a microring resonator Bistability and self pulsation in a microring resonator Free carrier effects and self pulsation in a microring resonator All-optical switching in a nonlinear microring resonator Enhanced nonlinear switching in a microring resonator Self switching of a pulse in a nonlinear microring resonator Pump-and-probe switching in a nonlinear microring resonator Four wave mixing in a nonlinear microring resonator Summary Active photonic applications of microring resonators Mechanisms for tuning microring resonators The thermo-optic effect The electro-optic effect Free carrier disperion Dynamic response of a microring modulator Dynamic energy coupling model of a microring modulator Small-signal analysis Large-signal response of a microring modulator Summary