In this paper, a multichannel refractive index sensor based on a subwavelength metal–insulator–metal (MIM) waveguide coupled with tangent-ring resonators is proposed. When two tangent-ring resonators were placed above the MIM waveguide, Fano resonance with asymmetrical line shape appeared in the transmission spectrum due to the interference between the light–dark resonant modes. The sensitivity and figure of merit were as high as 880 nm/RIU and 964, respectively. Through adding more tangent-ring resonators, multiple Fano resonances with ultrasharp peaks/dips were achieved in the wavelength range of 800–2000 nm. Besides, negative group delays were also observed in the Fano resonant dips. Two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method was used to simulate and analyze the performances of the proposed structures. These kinds of multiring structures can find important applications in the on-chip optical sensing and optical communication areas.

In this paper, multiple Fano resonances preferred in the refractive index sensing area are achieved based on sub-wavelength metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguides. Two slot cavities, which are placed between or above the MIM waveguides, can support the bright modes or the dark modes, respectively. Owing to the mode interferences, dual Fano resonances with obvious asymmetrical spectral responses are achieved. High sensitivity and high figure of merit are investigated by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. In view of the development of chip-scale integrated photonics, two extra slot cavities are successively added to the structure, and consequently, three and four ultra-sharp Fano peaks with considerable performances are obtained, respectively. It is believed that this proposed structure can find important applications in the on-chip optical sensing and optical communication areas.

In this paper, multiple Fano resonances based on semi-ring-rectangular composite cavity (SRRCC) structure are numerically investigated and explained by FDTD method and MICMT method. High refractive-index sensitivities and high figure of merits (FOMs) are obtained in SRRCC system, and thus it may be preferred in the chip-scale optical sensing area. Besides, the phase response and the delay time within the Fano resonant windows are also investigated. Additionally, two more Fano resonances with high sensitivities and FOMs emerge through adding a new semi-ring cavity. These structures show widely applications in the sensing area and promote development of on-chip integrated photonics.

We propose a design of ring-core few-mode fiber (RC-FMF) with the erbium doping at the cladding region near the outer ring edge. After the parameter optimization of the RC-FM-EDF, the intensity overlapping difference between LP ₀₁ and LP ₁₁ modes can be minimized, leading to a DMG of 0.22 dB for the corresponding ring-core few-mode erbium-doped fiber amplifier (RC-FM-EDFA). Meanwhile, in comparison with uniform core doping design, the saturation input signal power of the RC-FM-EDFA can be enhanced from -17.7 dBm and -16 dBm to -8.5 dBm for LP ₀₁ and LP ₁₁ modes, respectively. Consequently, our proposed RC-FM-EDFA is characterized by both low differential modal gain (DMG) and the enhanced saturation input signal power. Those new characteristics of the RC-FM-EDFA is ideally desired for future agile networks.

We employ particle swarm optimization to present a cladding-pumped few-mode erbium-doped fiber amplifier (FM-EDFA) with an extended erbium-doped distribution over the core. By enlarging the radius of the doping region to improve the gain of high-order modes, the differential modal gain (DMG) can be minimized. The proposed FM-EDFA can provide average gain of 21.7 dB and DMG of less than 0.61 dB across the C-band (1530–1565 nm) for seven-mode groups. In addition, the value of the optimal doping radius has been investigated for different numbers of mode groups, which will gradually increase with the number of mode groups. Finally, simulation results indicate acceptable applicability for four- to six-mode groups even using the proposed design.