Waveguiding in Periodic Coupled Micro-resonator

Joyce PoonCalifornia Institute of TechnologyAbstract:
Coupled-Resonator Optical Waveguides (CROWs) are chains of resonators in which light propagates by virtue of the coupling between the resonators. The dispersive properties of these waveguides are controllable by the inter-resonator coupling and the geometry of the resonators. For example, if the inter-resonator coupling is weak, light can be engineered to propagate slowly in CROWs. The small group velocities possible in CROWs may enable applications in and technologies for optical delay lines, interferometers, buffers, nonlinear optics, and lasers. In this presentation, I will report on our progress in achieving and controlling optical delay in passive and active CROWs. Both theoretical and experimental results will be presented. I will show how transfer matrices can be used to analyze and design a variety of coupled resonator systems. I will also present measurements of the spectral and group delay properties of high-order (>10) coupled polymer microring resonators. Finally, I will discuss our ongoing work on active CROWs in III-V semiconductors for loss compensation and electrical control.Brief Biography:
Joyce Poon is a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the group of Prof. Amnon Yariv. She received the M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 2003 from Caltech and the B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science (Physics Option) from the University of Toronto in 2002. She is grateful for fellowships from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), OSA Dekker Foundation, and IEEE-LEOS for supporting her graduate studies. Joyce's current research is on slow light propagation in coupled resonators, polymer microrings, and compound semiconductor (InP-InGaAsP) resonator devices. Her research interests include the theory, design, and experimental studies of optical wave propagation in waveguides, micro-resonators, and periodic structures for active and passive photonics.

Location: Hedco Neurosciences Building (HNB) - 100

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Ericka Lieberknecht