We analyze transmission characteristics of two coupled identical cavities, of either standing-wave (SW) or traveling-wave (TW) type, based on temporal coupled mode theory.Mode splitting is observed for both directly (cavity-cavity) and indirectly (cavity-waveguide-cavity) coupled cavity systems. The effects of direct and indirect couplings, if coexisting in one system, can offset each other such that no mode splitting occurs and the original single-cavity resonant frequency is retained. By tuning the configuration of the coupled cavity system, one can obtain different characteristics in transmission spectra, including splitting in transmission, zero transmission, Fano-type transmission, electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT)-like transmission, and electromagnetically-induced-absorption (EIA)-like transmission. It is also interesting to notice that a side-coupled SW cavity system performs similarly to an under-coupled TW cavity. The results are useful for the design of cavity-based devices for integration in nanophotonics.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a temporal differentiator in optical field based on a silicon microring resonator with a radius of 40 microm. The microring resonator operates near the critical coupling region, and can take the first order derivative of the optical field. It features compact size thus is suitable for integration with silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based optical and electronic devices. The performance of this optical differentiator is tested using signals with typical shapes such as Gaussian, sinusoidal and square-like pulses at data rates of 10 Gb/s and 5 Gb/s.

In this paper we propose an optical see-through multi-plane display with reverse-mode polymer-stabilized liquid crystal (PSLC). Our design solves the problem of accommodation-vergence conflict with correct focus cues. In the reverse mode PSLC system, power consumption could be reduced to ~1/(N-1) of that in a normal mode system if N planes are displayed. The PSLC films fabricated in our experiment exhibit a low saturation voltage ~20 V, a high transparent-state transmittance (92%), and a fast switching time within 2 ms and polarization insensitivity. A proof-of-concept two-plane color display prototype and a four-plane monocolor display prototype were implemented.

Silicon photonics has attracted tremendous interest from academia and industry, as the fabrication of the silicon family of photonic devices is mostly compatible with the microelectronics process using complementary metal‐oxide semiconductors (CMOS). Herein, three silicon‐family materials are discussed: silicon, silicon nitride, and silica. In addition, hybrid integration with a 2D material, graphene, is examined. First, the material and waveguide properties are reviewed. Second, typical fabrication processes for waveguide devices are introduced. Subsequently, a variety of passive waveguide devices, operating at different physical dimensions covering wavelength, polarization, and mode, are discussed. They correspond to fixed and tunable filters, polarization beam splitters and rotators, and mode conversion and multiplexing devices. These passive waveguide devices play important roles in a wide range of applications including telecom, interconnects, computing, sensing, quantum information processing, bio‐photonics, and energy.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an on-chip all-optical differential-equation solver capable of solving second-order ordinary differential equations (ODEs) characterizing continuous-time linear time-invariant (LTI) systems. The photonic device is implemented by a self-coupled micro-resonator on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform with mutual coupling between the cavity modes. Owing to the mutual mode coupling within the same resonant cavity, the resonance wavelengths induced by different cavity modes are self-aligned, thus avoiding precise wavelength alignment and unequal thermal wavelength drifts as in the case of cascaded resonators. By changing the mutual mode coupling strength, the proposed device can be used to solve second-order ODEs with tunable coefficients. System demonstration using the fabricated device is carried out for 10-Gb/s optical Gaussian and super-Gaussian input pulses. The experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions of the solutions, which verify the feasibility of the fabricated device as a tunable second-order photonic ODE solver.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an all-optical temporal differential-equation solver that can be used to solve ordinary differential equations (ODEs) characterizing general linear time-invariant (LTI) systems. The photonic device implemented by an add-drop microring resonator (MRR) with two tunable interferometric couplers is monolithically integrated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer with a compact footprint of ~60 μm × 120 μm. By thermally tuning the phase shifts along the bus arms of the two interferometric couplers, the proposed device is capable of solving first-order ODEs with two variable coefficients. The operation principle is theoretically analyzed, and system testing of solving ODE with tunable coefficients is carried out for 10-Gb/s optical Gaussian-like pulses. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of the fabricated device as a tunable photonic ODE solver.

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In this work, a novel soft-hard template method towards the direct fabrication of graphene films on silicon/silica substrate is developed via a tri-constituent self-assembly route. Using cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as a soft template, silica (SiO2) from tetramethoxysilane as a hard template, and pyrene as a carbon source, the self-assembly process allows the formation of a sandwich-like SiO2/CTAB/pyrene composite, which can be further converted to high quantity graphene films with a thickness of ~1 nm and a size of over 5 μm by thermal treatment. The morphology and thickness of the graphene films can be effectively controlled through the adjustment of the ratio of pyrene to CTAB. Furthermore, a high nonlinear refractive index n2 of ~10−12 m2 W−1 is measured from graphene/silica hybrid film, which is six orders of magnitude larger than that of silicon and comparable to the graphene from chemical vapor deposition process.