Adiabatic microring resonators

Abstract

A class of whispering-gallery-mode resonators, herein referred to as adiabatic microring resonators, is proposed and numerically demonstrated. Adiabatic microrings enable electrical and mechanical contact to be made to the resonator without inducing radiation, while supporting only a single radial mode and therein achieving an uncorrupted free spectral range (FSR). Rigorous finite-difference time-domain simulations indicate that adiabatic microrings with outer diameters as small as 4 μm can achieve resonator quality factors (Qs) as high as Q = 88,000 and an FSR of 8.2 THz, despite large internal contacts.