Tunable Fano resonance in mutually coupled micro-ring resonators

We simulate and experimentally observe a tunable Fano resonance in a mutual coupling micro-ring resonator (MRR) system which is comprised of two cascaded micro-ring resonators. The scattering matrix model is employed to analyze the modulating characterization of the Fano resonance by changing the effective refractive index of MRRs, and the simulation results indicate that the Fano resonance is the sharpest when two MRRs' resonances are coincident. The Fano resonance device is fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator substrate using the standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication process. The experimental results show that the spectrum of the Fano resonance can be periodically tuned and flipped by applying forward-bias voltages to integrated micro-heaters above the MRRs. The proposed device has unique merits such as compact size, simple structure, CMOS compatible fabrication process, and large-scale integration, which is a promising candidate for high-sensitivity biochemical sensing and low power optical switching/modulating in future. Published by AIP Publishing.