Enhanced Small-Signal Responsivity in Silicon Microring Photodetector Based on Two-Photon Absorption

We experimentally investigated methods of enhancing the small-signal responsivity of a silicon pin microring photodetector based on two-photon absorption for detecting small optical signals in the telecommunication wavelength range. Two approaches are demonstrated, the first exploiting the bistability effect in the nonlinear microring resonator while the second employing an optical bias at a different wavelength to increase the differential responsivity. We achieved a small-signal responsivity of 180 mA/W with the first approach and 141 mA/W with the second approach, both of which represent almost 10-fold enhancement over direct detection of small optical signals by the same silicon pin microring detector. Our techniques have potential applications in amplitude demodulation, heterodyne detection, and optical power monitoring in WDM communication channels.