Abstract
On-chip optical buffers based on waveguide delay lines might have significant implications for the development of optical interconnects in computer systems. Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) submicrometre photonic wire waveguides are used, because they can provide strong light confinement at the diffraction limit, allowing dramatic scaling of device size. Here we report on-chip optical delay lines based on such waveguides that consist of up to 100 microring resonators cascaded in either coupled-resonator or all-pass filter (APF) configurations. On-chip group delays exceeding 500ps are demonstrated in a device with a footprint below 0.09mm2. The trade-offs between resonantly enhanced group delay, device size, insertion loss and operational bandwidth are analysed for various delay-line designs. A large fractional group delay exceeding 10 bits is achieved for bit rates as high as 20Gbps. Measurements of system-level metrics as bit error rates for different bit rates demonstrate error-free operation up to 5Gbps.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 65-71 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Nature Photonics |
Volume | 1 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics