SURFACE PHONON POLARITON-ENHANCED RING RESONATOR AND E-PLANE HYBRID RING COUPLER

Abstract

Surface polaritons are known for providing the ability to confine light beyond the Abbe’s limit of diffraction. While metals efficiently support surface plasmon polaritons in the visible-UV spectrum, some semiconductors can support surface phonon polaritons in the infrared. Ring resonators are devices with high integration level with optical interconnects and with applications including filters, directional couplers, modulators and interferometers. Loss associated to ring curvature yields ring radius on the order of tens of free-space wavelengths. SPhP-enhanced micro-ring resonator was proposed and it was shown that ring dimensions are reduced. Advances in nanofabrication processes allow the design of optical interconnects using materials that exhibit significant properties in the LWIR, such as silicon carbide (SiC). 4H-SiC buried channel rectangular waveguides was shown to possess higher propagation constant when compared to benchmark rectangular waveguides. Waveguide impedance definition was proposed and determined. E-plane hybrid ring based on buried channel is initially reported, scattering matrix analytically obtained and relation between ring waveguide and input waveguide impedances is determined. SPhP-enhanced E-plane hybrid ring is shown to provide acceptable insertion loss and coupling factor values, while enabling small overall size.