Electromagnetically Induced Transparency in a Silicon Self-Coupled Optical Waveguide

We investigate the resonance property of a self-coupled optical waveguide (SCOW) with four coupling points. Under a special condition that the two outer couplers are in weak coupling and the two inner couplers are in strong coupling, an implicit standing-wave resonance mode is formed inside the SCOW structure. As the resonance is feedback coupled via an S-shape bus waveguide, electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-like resonance features are observed in the output transmission spectrum. The SCOW resonator is analyzed using the coupled mode theory and finite-difference time-domain simulation. The device is experimentally demonstrated on the silicon-on-insulator platform. The measurement results overall agree well with the theoretical calculation. The EIT-like peak can be tuned by a thermo-optic phase shifter made of a NIN-type silicon resistor integrated in the feedback waveguide. The results point to new ways of creating on-chip optical analog of the EIT phenomenon that can be utilized for various optical signal processing applications.