Compact Optical Add-Drop Multiplexers With Parent-Sub Ring Resonators on SOI Substrates

Abstract

A four-channel integrated optical add/drop multiplexer is experimentally demonstrated on a silicon-on-insulator substrate. With the help of a parent-sub microring resonator structure, compact footprint, large free spectral range, and uniform channel spacing are achieved simultaneously. Through controlling the resonance matching between the parent and sub-rings through thermo-optic effect, each channel can be switched independently between the states of dropping and passing through. The thermal tuning efficiency is as high as 0.27 nm/mW. Typically, for dropping state, all four channels can be de-multiplexed to the drop ports with 2 dB drop loss, 18 dB through port extinction, and less than -20 dB channel crosstalk.