An all-silicon optical diode

Abstract

A silicon optical diode enables optical non-reciprocity through direction-dependent resonance shift of microrings based on the thermo-optic effectin silicon. We observe an ultra-high nonreciprocal transmission ratio of 40 dB with an improved design of the optical diode. One-way 10Gbps data transmission is realized based on the strong dispersion and attenuation associated with a resonant structure.