Analysis and synthesis of strongly coupled optical microring resonator networks

Integrated photonics have received much attention in recent years as there is a concerted effort towards achieving Very-Large-Scale-Integration of optical components. One of the key elements enabling such dense integration is the optical microring resonator, which has found pervasive applications in integrated optics due to its ultrahigh quality factor and highly dispersive spectral characteristics. Recently it was shown that two dimensionally coupled microring resonators (2D-CMRs) can be used to realize advanced optical transfer functions, making them highly attractive for spectral engineering applications. Existing methods for analysis and design of 2D-CMR networks based on the energy coupling formalism are limited to narrowband devices due to its inherent weak coupling assumptions. This thesis develops rigorous field coupling methods for analyzing and synthesizing general 2D-CMR networks in the strong coupling regime, which exhibit novel physical phenomena not previously observed. Advanced applications of strongly coupled CMR networks are also proposed for broadband applications.