Efficient design of polymer micro-ring resonator filters based on coupled mode theory and finite difference mode solver

Polymer photonics have been identified as a strong candidate technology for producing low-cost optical devices. In this paper, we provide a time efficient framework for designing polymer micro-ring devices based on Coupled Mode Theory (CMT) and a Finite Difference Mode Solver. We benchmark two alternative methods for modeling the coupling regions of the micro-ring filter in 3D. We deduce that compared to full blown finite difference time domain simulations, CMT can provide accurate results in just a small fraction of time. The proposed model allows the study of bending losses on the spectral properties of the device, that can be otherwise modelled using time demanding FDTD or less accurate simplified analytical expressions.