Wavelength-selective switching using double-ring resonators coupled by a three-waveguide directional coupler.

A novel design of a two-bus coupled-rings 2 × 2 switch with inter-ring coupling enabled by a three-waveguide (3w) directional coupler is proposed. The device is analyzed using a theoretical model based on coupled mode theory and optical transfer formulae. We show that injected free-carriers tuning of the central waveguide in the 3w coupler affects only the bonding resonance mode while the other anti-bonding mode is transparent. This feature can be used to perform selective optical switching, and a numerical design example is given on the silicon photonics platform. The selective switch can be employed in a two-color duplex bidirectional communication system which conveniently separates the simultaneous transmitted and received signals in a single fiber-optic waveguide.