title: An all-silicon passive optical diode.
abstract: A passive optical diode effect would be useful for on-chip optical information processing but has been difficult to achieve. Using a method based on optical nonlinearity, we demonstrate a forward-backward transmission ratio of up to 28 decibels within telecommunication wavelengths. Our device, which uses two silicon rings 5 micrometers in radius, is passive yet maintains optical nonreciprocity for a broad range of input power levels, and it performs equally well even if the backward input power is higher than the forward input. The silicon optical diode is ultracompact and is compatible with current complementary metal-oxide semiconductor processing.
authors.affiliation: Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Leo T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Varghese
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xuan
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.forename: Minghao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qi
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D012666:Semiconductors; D012825:Silicon
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon