Vertical waveguide-coupled microring resonator: Design and simulation

Abstract

The frequency-selective waveguide coupler is an important component of wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical networks. The structural design of the coupler determines the performance, size, and spectral response. Recently, Chin and Ho demonstrated a conformal transformation method in calculating the coupling in micron-scale microring resonators. This method has been shown to give fast and accurate results in calculating the properties of in-plane coupling structures. We have adapted this algorithm to analyze the properties of a vertical coupling structure in detail. The vertical arrangement was found to be more effective in coupling waveguide modes than the in-plane coupler and thereby offers a promising application to WDM systems.