An All-Silicon Passive Optical Diode
Abstract
Electrical diodes are at the core of microelectronics. The optical equivalent, however, has been difficult to realize owing to the time-reversal symmetry of Maxwell's equations that describe electromagnetic propagation. Usually, a control input in the form of a magnetic field is required that breaks that symmetry. Such inputs are not practical for optical integrated circuits. Fan et al. (p. 447 , published online 22 December) developed a silicon-based microresonator device that could control the asymmetric transmission of light through it. The passive optical diode was compatible with current complementary metal-oxide semiconductor processing technology and thus should be readily integrated into optoelectronic circuitry.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 27, 2012
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.1214383
Entities
People
- Andrew M. Weiner
- Ben Niu
- Hao Shen
- Jian Wang
- Leo T. Varghese
- Li Fan
- Minghao Qi
- Yi Xuan
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- Purdue University
- Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology