Microring resonators: Opportunities and challenges for future optical networks

Photonic integrated technologies are a widely accepted platform to overcome electronic limitations for short reach interconnections. Indeed, recent experiments have demonstrated their viability for both chip-level and board-to-board interconnects. In this context, microring resonators have the potential to become key components thanks to their versatility, high switching speed, low power consumption and suitability for low-cost photonic integration. In this paper we briefly survey recent switching architectures based on microrings. Then, we highlight microrings positive and negative features for current network architectures. Finally, we point out the main issues that need to be addressed to strengthen microring resonators role in future optical networks.