Optimization of thermo-optic phase-shifter design and mitigation of thermal crosstalk on the SOI platform

Jacques, Maxime; Samani, Alireza; El-Fiky, Eslam; Patel, David; Xing, Zhenping; Plant, David V.

doi:10.1364/oe.27.010456

Cited by 176 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The feasibility of using this type of structure to tune the group delay has been experimentally demonstrated using silica waveguides of 3 × 3 µm 2 core size [24]. The incorporation of a thermal phase shifter in a SOI-based photonic circuit has been reported and proved to be consistent with simulation results [33][34][35][36][37][38]. We demonstrate here the operation of such a push-pull tunable delay line with device simulators.…”

Section: Device Structure and Simulation Resultssupporting

confidence: 54%

Tunable Optical Delay Line Based on a Racetrack Resonator with Tunable Coupling and Stable Wavelength

Hailu

Lee

2019

Applied Sciences

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For optical sensing or biomedical sensing where the light source usually has a stable and narrow linewidth, the design rule of the tunable optical delay line (ODL) can be different from the ODLs for optical communications and buffering. We present here a novel way to tune a racetrack resonator-based ODL by push-pull operation to stabilize the resonant wavelength. Full device simulation that accounts for the thermal tuning effect and the photonic characteristics of the whole integrated device is conducted to verify the characteristics of the tunable ODLs. With the simple racetrack resonator, the group delay can simply be tuned by changing the coupling coefficient of the resonator while the wavelength is stabilized by tuning the racetrack loop. A tuning of hundreds of picoseconds is achievable with a very compact device and small power consumption.Many different integration platforms can be utilized to make ODLs. Basic trade-offs between the integration density and waveguide propagation loss need to be considered before choosing the proper platform. The silicon photonics platform based on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) is regarded as one of the most promising technologies for large-scale high-density photonic integration because of its large index contrast, small bending radius, and use of compatible fabrication facilities in semiconductor foundries [5,17]. Currently, there are several semiconductor foundries and research institutes providing the multi-project-wafer (MPW) process for SOI-based photonic integration, which can reduce the research and development cost for realizing tunable ODLs. Therefore, our design is based on the SOI platform.There are two commonly used approaches to tune the SOI-based ODLs: Tuning with thermal heating or carrier-induced effects. Both tuning mechanisms change the refractive index of the waveguide and then change the phase. However, the carrier-induced effect via carrier injection or depletion requires the formation of a PN junction in the waveguide, and the refractive index change is associated with a loss change. Therefore, thermal tuning is usually the choice for its simple device structure and low optical loss as long as the tuning speed is not the major concern. In fact, the thermal tuning speed can be as short as a few µs for the local heating of a compact SOI waveguide [20]. The high thermal resistance of the silica cladding on a SOI structure can also reduce the thermal crosstalk and power consumption.Tunable ODLs based on ring resonators have been demonstrated by several groups [21][22][23][24][25]. Most of the designs are for optical signal processing or buffering. In these applications, the critical requirements include a large enough true delay, wide bandwidth, and low higher-order phase variations that will lead to dispersion and signal distortions. Therefore, multiple stages of ring resonators are employed to achieve the desired delay with large bandwidth and low distortion [4]. However, the manufacturing variations in the associated multiple rings will result in fluct...

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Section: Device Structure and Simulation Resultssupporting

confidence: 54%

Tunable Optical Delay Line Based on a Racetrack Resonator with Tunable Coupling and Stable Wavelength

Hailu

Lee

2019

Applied Sciences

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“…A brief thermal crosstalk analysis for micro-disk resonators with heater-modulators was reported in [22]. Recently, thermal phase shifters based on doped heaters with improved performances were reported in [23]. However, the presented thermal crosstalk analysis was not comprehensive and some amount of the heat is dissipated through the silicon substrate limiting the efficiency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Simulation of Thermo-Optic Phase Shifters With Low Thermal Crosstalk for Dense Photonic Integration

Das

Varshney

et al. 2020

IEEE Access

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We investigate and demonstrate the thermal crosstalk problem in integrated photonic circuits with metal and silicon doped heaters. Further, we illustrate that due to the localized heating effect, integrated doped heaters are out-performed in terms of thermal crosstalk as compared to integrated metal heaters. To mitigate thermal crosstalk and enhance phase tuning efficiency further, a CMOS compatible air-filled trench region is realized between the doped heater and the adjacent element. The performances of three fundamental building blocks of integrated photonic circuits, namely, a PN phase shifter, an optical attenuator, and a ring resonator, are tested by full-wave thermal, charge, and optical simulations. Additionally, the impact of thermal crosstalk on the performance of integrated PN phase shifters and optical attenuators is examined thoroughly. The proposed low crosstalk thermal phase shifters might be very beneficial for densely routed complex integrated photonic circuits like photonic transceivers for data centers, optical phased array antennas, and photonic reservoirs. INDEX TERMS Silicon on insulator (SOI), thermal crosstalk, phase shifter, integrated doped heaters, integrated optical attenuator, thermal switch, ring resonator.

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“…The thermo-optic effect is the most common way to tune integrated photonic ring resonators, using microheaters placed on top of the individual rings. While thermal tuners offer a large tuning range, they are slow (operating on the microsecond scale), have poor energy efficiency [13], require careful design to minimize crosstalk between different tuners [60], and inevitably introduce sensitivity to environmental temperature fluctuations [61]. Electro-optic tuning can operate much faster (subnanosecond) and with greater energy efficiency; however, the tuning range is Silica microtoroid resonator, adapted from the study by Armani et al [42].…”

Section: Ring Resonatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topological phases in ring resonators: recent progress and future prospects

Leykam

Yuan

2020

Nanophotonics

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Topological photonics has emerged as a novel paradigm for the design of electromagnetic systems from microwaves to nanophotonics. Studies to date have largely focused on the demonstration of fundamental concepts, such as nonreciprocity and waveguiding protected against fabrication disorder. Moving forward, there is a pressing need to identify applications where topological designs can lead to useful improvements in device performance. Here, we review applications of topological photonics to ring resonator–based systems, including one- and two-dimensional resonator arrays, and dynamically modulated resonators. We evaluate potential applications such as quantum light generation, disorder-robust delay lines, and optical isolation, as well as future research directions and open problems that need to be addressed.

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Optimization of thermo-optic phase-shifter design and mitigation of thermal crosstalk on the SOI platform

Cited by 176 publications

References 32 publications

Tunable Optical Delay Line Based on a Racetrack Resonator with Tunable Coupling and Stable Wavelength

Tunable Optical Delay Line Based on a Racetrack Resonator with Tunable Coupling and Stable Wavelength

Design and Simulation of Thermo-Optic Phase Shifters With Low Thermal Crosstalk for Dense Photonic Integration

Topological phases in ring resonators: recent progress and future prospects

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