Accepted Manuscript

Title: A novel photonic crystal ring resonator configuration for

add/drop filtering

Authors: Juan Zhang, Hao Liu, Yipeng Ding, Yang Wang

PII: S1569-4410(17)30391-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.photonics.2018.04.002
Reference: PNFA 639

To appear in: Photonics and Nanostructures – Fundamentals and Applications

Received date: 18-12-2017

Revised date: 20-3-2018
Accepted date: 9-4-2018

Please cite this article as: Juan Zhang, Hao Liu, Yipeng Ding, Yang
Wang, A novel photonic crystal ring resonator configuration for
add/drop filtering, Photonics and Nanostructures - Fundamentals and
Applications https://doi.org/10.1016/j.photonics.2018.04.002

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Title page

A novel photonic crystal ring resonator configuration for add/drop filtering

Juan Zhang1,*, Hao Liu1, Yipeng Ding2, Yang Wang3,*

1
Key laboratory of Specialty Fiber Optics and Optical Access Networks, Joint International
Research Laboratory of Specialty Fiber Optics and Advanced Communication, Shanghai

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Institute for Advanced Communication and Data Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai

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200072, China
2 School of Physical Science and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha 410012,

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China

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3 Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai
201800, China

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*Corresponding author: juanzhang@staff.shu.edu.cn, ywang@siom.ac.cn
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Highlights
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A novel photonic crystal ring resonator configuration with ultra-compact size is proposed.

Near 100% efficiency can be achieved for both forward- and backward dropping.
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Flexible selection of dropping wavelengths and directions is demonstrated numerically.

The working mechanism of the proposed nested dual-loop resonant ring is analyzed.
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Abstract
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A novel compact photonic crystal ring resonator (PCRR) configuration is proposed to realize
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high-efficiency waveguided add-drop filtering. Its wavelength selection and dropping-

direction exchange functions are demonstrated numerically. The working mechanism of this
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nested dual-loop resonant cavity structure is analyzed in detail.

Keywords
Add/drop filter; ring resonator; photonic crystal; photonic integrated circuit; wavelength
division multiplexing system

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Text
1. Introduction
The waveguided add-drop filter (WADF) [1-2] is one of the most significant parts in
photonic integrated circuits and dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) networks.
One of the most promising designs for WADFs is the resonant cavity due to its high spectral
selectivity nature [3-5]. Compared with the traditional strip-based micro-ring resonator,

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photonic crystal ring resonators (PCRRs) have the potential to achieve smaller useable size,

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higher quality factor, lower loss and more flexible configurations [5-17].
For the PCRR filters, it is hard to achieve high transmission efficiencies for both

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forward- and backward-dropping for a single-ring configuration. Cascaded double-ring or X-

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shaped PCRR structures [7,18] are often used to control the forward- and backward-output,
which will increase the complexity and footprint size of the structure. Furthermore, the drop

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efficiencies of the two directions are usually less than 90%. The PCRR hetero-structures (such
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as magneto-optical/dielectric hybrid structure) proposed recently are effective to achieve
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forward- and backward dropping with a single-ring [19]. However, the complex structural and
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material parameters will bring some technical problems into the preparation.
Here, we attempt to improve the drawbacks of previously reported works. A novel
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compact PCRR configuration is proposed to realize high-transmission-efficiency forward and

backward outputs. A nested dual-loop structure works as a resonant ring. Finite-difference
time-domain (FDTD) simulation results show that wavelength selection and dropping-
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direction exchange can be realized flexibly by the structural design of a few critical dielectric
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rods in the triangular lattice. The different resonance modes propagating clockwise and
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counter-clockwise in the inner and outer loops result in the selectivity of dropping
wavelengths and directions.
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2. Nested resonant ring configuration

The schematic structure of the proposed PCRR-based channel drop filter is shown in Fig.
1(a). It is composed of bus (1) and dropping waveguides (2), and a nested hexagon-shaped
dual-loop resonant ring (3) located between them. Fig.1 (b) shows the enlarged image of the
resonant ring. Fig. 1(c) shows the corresponding band structure for TE polarization of the
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perfect triangular lattice photonic crystal calculated by the plane wave expansion method
(PWEM) [20], where the lattice constant a=0.6245μm, the rod radius Rall=0.12μm, the
refractive index of the dielectric rods nall=3.46, and the background is air. The numbers of
rods in the horizontal and vertical directions are 27 and 21, respectively. A broad bandgap

(gray region in Fig.1(c)) from 0.450842 1/ to 0.733773 1/ (1.3628μm to 2.2181μm for
wavelength) covers common optical communication bands. The size of the nested hexagon-

shaped dual-loop resonant ring is less than 57m.

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2.0
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1.5
Frequency (/2c)

1.0
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0.5

(c)

0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Wave vector (ka/2)

Fig.1. Schematic structure of the proposed PCRR-based channel drop filter (a), the nested dual-loop
resonant ring (b) and the corresponding band structure for TE polarization of the perfect triangular lattice
3
 photonic crystal (c).

3. Channel drop filtering for two different wavelengths

The add-drop filtering characteristics of this structure are simulated by two-dimensional
FDTD method [21]. Perfectly matched layers (PMLs) are placed as absorbing boundaries
around the structure. Gaussian beams with TE polarization are incident from the port A.
The basic channel drop filtering function are demonstrated as shown in Fig.2. The electric
field distribution shows that the light at 1.550μm is backward dropped at port D, and the light

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at 1.680μm is forward dropped at port C.

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Fig.2. Electric field distribution in the nested ring resonant cavity at 1550nm (a) and 1680nm (b).
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The transmission spectra at ports B, C, and D are shown in Fig.3. For the wavelength of
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1.550μm (1), the calculated transmissivity (defined as the ratio of the square of the
amplitude of transmitted intensity at the output ports to that at the input port A) at port D is
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99.72%, and that at ports B and C are very small (<2%). While for the wavelength of
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1.680μm (2), the transmissivity at port C is 98.63%, and that at ports B and D are very small
(<3%). It should be pointed out that the definition of transmissivity here is not very rigorous.
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Besides the incident field, the field at the input port A also includes the reflected field. This
back-reflection mainly originates from the impedance mismatch between the injecting
Gaussian beam and the guided mode. However, due to the small proportion of the reflected
field (<5% in most cases), it is still reasonable to simply define the transmissivity as
mentioned above.

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 1.4
a=0.6245, nall=3.46, Rall=0.12m
Port B
1.2
Port C
1
1.0
Port D

Transmission
0.8
3
0.6

0.4
2
0.2

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0.0
1.50 1.55 1.60 1.65 1.70
Wavelength/m

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Fig.3. Transmission spectra at ports B, C and D.

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The dropped wavelengths can be flexibly changed by the structural

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design of a few critical dielectric rods in the triangular lattice. As shown in Fig.4, with the

change of the diameter of the rods (from 0.105m to 0.125m) located at

the up and below sides (in the green box in Fig.4(a)), the inner ring (in the red ring in Fig.4(a))
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and the central area (in the yellow box in Fig.4(a)), the resonant wavelength of the structure
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will shift slightly. If we slightly change the structural parameters (radius from 0.105m to
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0.125m, or refractive index from 3.35 to 3.55, or lattice constant from 0.5800m to
0.6800m) of all the lattice rods, the resonant wavelength can be shifted considerably, as
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shown in Fig.5. For comparison, the transmission at the through port B is also shown in the
same figure.
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1.2
(b)
(a)
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1.0

0.8
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Port B(0.105m)
Transmission

Port D(0.105m)
0.6 Port B(0.110m)
Port D(0.110m)
0.4 Port B(0.115m)
Port D(0.115m)
Port B(0.120m)
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0.2 Port D(0.120m)

Port B(0.125m)
Port D(0.125m)
0.0
1.52 1.54 1.56 1.58 1.60
Wavelength/m

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 1.2 1.2
(c) (d)
1.0 1.0

0.8 0.8
Port B(0.105m) Port B(0.105m)

Transmission
Transmission

Port D(0.105m) Port D(0.105m)

0.6 Port B(0.110m) 0.6 Port B(0.110m)
Port D(0.110m) Port D(0.110m)
Port B(0.115m) Port B(0.115m)
0.4 0.4 Port D(0.115m)
Port D(0.115m)
Port B(0.120m) Port B(0.120m)
Port D(0.120m) 0.2 Port D(0.120m)
0.2
Port B(0.125m) Port B(0.125m)
Port D(0.125m) Port D(0.125m)
0.0 0.0
1.50 1.52 1.54 1.56 1.58 1.60 1.62 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.58 1.59 1.60
Wavelength/m Wavelength/m

Fig.4. A few critical dielectric rods in the filter (a) and the change of the resonant wavelength 1 with the

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diameter of these rods located at the up and below sides (b), the inner ring (c) and the central area (d).

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1.2 1.2
(a) (b)

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1.0 1.0

0.8 Transmission

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0.8
Transmission

Port B(0.105m) Port B(3.35)

Port D(3.35)
0.6 Port D(0.105m) 0.6 Port B(3.40)
Port B(0.110m)
Port D(3.40)
Port D(0.110m)
Port B(3.45)
0.4 Port B(0.115m) 0.4
Port D(3.45)

0.2
Port D(0.115m)
Port B(0.120m)
Port D(0.120m)
Port B(0.125m)
0.2

U Port B(3.50)
Port D(3.50)
Port B(3.55)
Port D(3.55)
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Port D(0.125m)
0.0 0.0
1.48 1.50 1.52 1.54 1.56 1.58 1.60 1.62 1.50 1.52 1.54 1.56 1.58 1.60 1.62 1.64
Wavelength/m Wavelength/m
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1.2
(c)
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1.0

0.8
Port B(0.5800m)
Transmission

Port D(0.5800m)
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0.6 Port B(0.6000m)

Port D(0.6000m)
Port B(0.6245m)
0.4 Port D(0.6245m)
Port B(0.6500m)
Port D(0.6500m)
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0.2
Port B(0.6800m)
Port D(0.6800m)
0.0
1.40 1.45 1.50 1.55 1.60 1.65 1.70 1.75 1.80 1.85
Wavelength/m
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Fig.5. The change of the resonant wavelength 1 with the radius (a), refractive index (b) and lattice
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constant (c) of all dielectric rods. Only part of the curves in the selected spectral range is shown to avoid
the interference of overlapped curves.
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4. Forward and backward dropping for a single wavelength

As shown in Fig.6 (a) (replicated from Fig 2(b)), the light of 1680nm can be forward
dropped when the refractive index of all the dielectric rods nall=3.46, and the radius
Rall=0.12μm. If the radius of the dielectric rods located in the inner ring (shown in the red ring
of Fig.4(a)) Rinner and the center area (shown in the yellow box of Fig.4(a)) Rcenter are changed

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to 0.100μm and 0.1162μm respectively and other parameters keep unchanged, the light of
1680nm can be backward dropped as shown in Fig.6 (b). The transmission spectra at the ports
B, C and D are shown in Fig. 7. The transmissivity at port D is 75.51%.

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Fig.6. The forward (a) and backward (b) dropping at 1680nm.

nall=3.46, Rother=0.12m Port B

1.4
Rinner=0.10m, Rcenter=0.1162m Port C
1.2
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1.0
Transmission

0.8
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0.6
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0.4

0.2
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0.0
1.66 1.68 1.70 1.72
Wavelength/m

Fig.7. Transmission spectra at the ports B, C and D.

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Similarly, by choosing appropriate structural parameters, other wavelengths of light can

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be forward and backward dropped as well. The detailed structural parameters of same
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examples are listed in Table 1. Here, ninner and ncenter are denoted as the refractive index of the
dielectric rods located in the inner ring (shown in the red ring of Fig.4(a)) and the center area
(shown in the yellow box of Fig.4(a)) respectively. nother and Rother are denoted as the refractive
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index and radius of the dielectric rods located in the regions except the red ring and the
yellow box of Fig.4(a) respectively.

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5. Dropping direction exchange of two input wavelengths
The light of 1700nm is forward dropped at port C and the light of 1720nm is backward
dropped at port D when the refractive index and radius of all dielectric rods are nall=3.60, and
Rall=0.120μm respectively, as shown in Fig. 8 (a). The transmissivity of 1700nm at port C is
98.61% and that of 1720nm at port D is 98.02%, respectively. Whereas, the transmissivity of
1700nm at port D and that of 1720nm at port C are very small (<3%).

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1.4 (a) nall=3.6, Rall=0.12m 1.4 (b)
nall=3.5, Rall=0.117m

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1.2 1.2

Transmission
1.0 1.0
Transmission

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0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

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0.4 0.4

0.2 Port C 0.2 Port C

Port D Port D
0.0
1.66 1.68 1.70
Wavelength/m
1.72 1.74 1.76
0.0
1.66

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Wavelength/m
1.72 1.74 1.76
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Fig. 8. Transmission spectra for (a)forward dropping at 1700nm and backward dropping at 1720nm;
(b)forward dropping at 1720nm and backward dropping at 1700nm.
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When the refractive index and radius of all dielectric rods are changed to nall=3.50 and
Rall=0.117μm respectively, the dropping direction of the two input wavelengths exchange. The
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light of 1700nm is backward dropped at port D and the light of 1720nm is forward dropped at
port C, as shown in Fig. 8 (b). The transmissivity of 1700nm at port D is 99.14% and that of
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1720nm at port C is 98.18%, respectively. Whereas, the transmissivity of 1700nm at port C

and that of 1720nm at port D are very small (<3%).
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6. Discussion on working mechanism

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To understand the working mechanism of this dropping filter, the resonance modes in the
resonant ring is analyzed in detail. According to the dynamic (moves are not shown here) and
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static electric field distributions obtained in the FDTD simulation, the propagation direction
of the guided wave can be clearly read out. As shown in Fig.9(a), the light of 1550nm only
propagates clockwise in the outer ring, which results in backward dropping at port D. As
shown in Fig.9 (b) and (c), the light of 1680nm propagates in both the outer and inner rings. If
the light propagates clockwise in both the outer and inner rings, the wave will be backward

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dropped at port D, as shown in Fig. 9(c). If the light propagates clockwise in the right half,
counter-clockwise in the left half of both the outer and inner rings, most light waves will be
forward dropped at port C when the counter-clockwise resonance mode is enhanced, as shown
in Fig.9(b).

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Fig.9. Propagation mode (top) and electric field distribution (bottom) for backward dropping at 1550nm (a),
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forward dropping at 1680nm(b) and backward dropping at 1680nm (c).
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It can be seen that the light wave with longer wavelength in the same bandgap is easier to
enter the inner ring of the resonant cavity. The propagation and dropping directions can be
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controlled by choosing appropriate coupling modes of the electric fields in the inner and outer
rings. A specific coupling mode of the resonant ring can be obtained by the structural
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design of this dual-loop structure. By tuning the resonant wavelength and coupling mode
more precisely, higher dropping efficiency can be expected. The structure shown here can be
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used to realize modulation, switching and reconfiguration functions by tuning the refractive
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index of the dielectric rods when nonlinear, plasma or phase change effects [22-25] were
introduced.
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Conclusion
In this paper, a novel nested dual-loop PCRR configuration is proposed to realize high-
transmission-efficiency forward and backward outputs. The design size of the resonant ring is
less than 57m, which is more compact than previously-reported cascaded or hetero PCRR
structures. The FDTD simulation results shows that the dropping
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wavelength and direction can be flexibly changed by the structural
design of a few critical dielectric rods in the triangular lattice. The dropping efficiency can be
greater than 98% for both forward and backward outputs in most design cases. From the
calculated dynamic and static electric field distributions, it can be confirmed that different
coupling modes in the inner and outer resonant loops result in the selectivity of dropping. This
proposed PCRR structure can work as a key element for wavelength selective filtering and
has important potential applications in add-drop multiplexers, optical routers, wavelength

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division multiplexing systems and so on.

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Acknowledgements

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This work is partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China

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(51472258), Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (15ZZ045),
and Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics
(SKLST201604).
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Table 1. Structural parameters to realize forward and backward dropping for a certain single wavelength.

Resonant Output
nother Rother ninner Rinner ncenter Rcenter
wavelength direction

1680nm forward 3.46 0.120μm --- --- --- ---

backward 3.46 0.120μm --- 0.100μm --- 0.1162μm

1690nm forward 3.46 0.120μm 3.60 0.120μm --- ---

backward 3.46 0.120μm --- 0.110μm --- ---

1700nm forward 3.60 0.120μm --- --- --- ---

backward 3.46 0.116μm --- --- --- ---

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1710nm forward 3.60 0.124μm --- --- --- ---

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backward 3.46 0.120μm --- --- --- ---

1720nm forward 3.60 0.128μm --- --- --- ---

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backward 3.60 0.120μm --- --- --- ---

forward 3.46 0.120μm --- --- --- ---

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1730nm
backward 3.55 0.120μm --- --- --- ---

1740nm forward 3.55 0.119μm --- --- --- ---

backward 3.46 0.130μm ---

U --- ---

Note: "---" indicates that the structural parameters are not subjected to special treatment.
---
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A
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A

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