Large-range tunable fractional-order differentiator based on cascaded microring resonators

In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate an all-optical continuously tunable fractional-order differentiator using on-chip cascaded electrically tuned microring resonators (MRRs). By changing the voltage applied on a MRR, the phase shift at the resonance frequency of the MRR varies, which can be used to implement tunable fractional-order differentiator. Hence fractional-order differentiator with a larger tunable range can be obtained by cascading more MRR units on a single chip. In the experiment, we applied two direct current voltage sources on two cascaded MRRs respectively, and a tunable order range of 0.57 to 2 have been demonstrated with Gaussian pulse injection, which is the largest tuning range to our knowledge.