Methods and systems for delaying optical waves

摘要

Coupled-resonator optical waveguides (CROW) can be used to control a speed of an optical signal. In particular, the coupling distance between the resonators can be adjusted to precisely control a group delay of an optical wave. Systems and methods are described to control such coupling distance in a CROW.

主权项

1. A method for providing an optical signal with a substantially constant delay along a frequency spectrum while maintaining a substantially constant amplitude of the optical signal, the method comprising:
providing coupled resonator optical waveguides (CROW) comprising at least three resonators; determining a transfer function having coupling coefficients that decrease monotonically from an input portion towards an output portion for the optical signal, the transfer function describing the optical signal when said optical signal is outputted; determining a group velocity of the optical signal propagating through the CROW by setting a coupling distance between each resonator of the CROW, each of the set coupling distances matching the coupling coefficients; and propagating the optical signal through the CROW by inputting the optical signal to an input waveguide of the CROW and outputting the optical signal from an output waveguide of the CROW, wherein the input waveguide is the same as the output waveguide.