Ridge resonators: impact of excitation beam and resonator losses

Abstract

Photonic resonators based on bound states in the continuum are attractive for sensing and telecommunication applications, as they have the potential to achieve ultra-high Q-factor resonators in a compact footprint. Recently, ridge resonators – leaky mode resonators based on a bound state in the continuum – have been demonstrated on a scalable photonic integrated circuit platform. However, high Q-factor ridge resonators have thus far not been achieved. In this contribution, we investigate the influence of excitation beam width and optical losses on the spectral response of ridge resonators. We show that for practical applications, the space required of the excitation beam is the limiting factor on the highest achievable Q-factor.