On-chip CMOS-compatible all-optical integrator.
All-optical circuits for computing and information processing could overcome the speed limitations intrinsic to electronics. However, in photonics, very few fundamental 'building blocks' equivalent to those used in multi-functional electronic circuits exist. In this study, we report the first all-optical temporal integrator in a monolithic, integrated platform. Our device--a lightwave 'capacitor-like' element based on a passive micro-ring resonator--performs the time integral of the complex field of an arbitrary optical waveform with a time resolution of a few picoseconds, corresponding to a processing speed of ∼200 GHz, and a 'hold' time approaching a nanosecond. This device, compatible with electronic technology (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor), will be one of the building blocks of next-generation ultrafast data-processing technology, enabling optical memories and real-time differential equation computing units.
Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique--Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, 1650 Boulevard Lionel Boulet, Varennes, Québec, Canada J3X 1S2. ferreram@emt.inrs.ca
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M
Ferrera
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Park
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Razzari
B E
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Little
S T
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Chu
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Morandotti
D J
DJ
Moss
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Azaña