Characterization of Optical Bi-Stability in Active Silicon Microring Resonators for All-Optical Switching

In this work, we experimentally study the optical bistability (BI) behavior in active silicon microring resonators (MRR). A stable hysteresis loop response at the output port is demonstrated at a power level higher than the BI threshold, taking into account the different detuning and free carrier life-times. That hysteresis is observed at low and high BI thresholds, which can be used for all-optical switching and optical routers. The MRR is placed inside a reverse-biased PIN junction and fabricated by CMOS technology. It records a loaded Q-factor, linewidth (3 dB width of the spectrum), and extinction ratio (ER) around
$10^{5},15.3$
pm, and 20 dB, respectively.