Flat-topped and low loss silicon-nanowire-type optical MUX/DeMUX employing multi-stage microring resonator assisted delayed Mach-Zehnder interferometers

We propose a novel silicon-nanowire-type multiplexer (MUX) / demultiplexer (DeMUX) based on multi-stage microring resonator assisted delayed Mach-Zehnder interferometers. It is theoretically shown that spectral flatness of DeMUX spectra can be accomplished by incorporating nonlinear phase behaviors of microring resonators into the multi-stage delayed Mach-Zehnder interferometers. We experimentally demonstrate flat-topped 400GHz-spacing 1 x 4Ch demultiplexing operation in the fabricated device with silicon-nanowire waveguides. Furthermore, by integrating the micro-heaters on the top cladding layer of the fabricated device, the DeMUX performance is upgraded in terms of excess loss (<0.8dB) and crosstalk (<-10dB) without any degradation of filter spectral flatness at each channel grid. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America