Active mid-infrared ring resonators

High-quality optical ring resonators can confine light in a small volume and store it for millions of roundtrips. They have enabled the dramatic size reduction from laboratory scale to chip level of optical filters, modulators, frequency converters, and frequency comb generators in the visible and the near-infrared. The mid-infrared spectral region (3−12 μm), as important as it is for molecular gas sensing and spectroscopy, lags behind in development of integrated photonic components. Here we demonstrate the integration of mid-infrared ring resonators and directional couplers, incorporating a quantum cascade active region in the waveguide core. It enables electrical control of the resonant frequency, its quality factor, the coupling regime and the coupling coefficient. We show that one device, depending on its operating point, can act as a tunable filter, a nonlinear frequency converter, or a frequency comb generator. These concepts extend to the integration of multiple active resonators and waveguides in arbitrary configurations, thus allowing the implementation of purpose-specific mid-infrared active photonic integrated circuits for spectroscopy, communication, and microwave generation.