Programmable and scalable on-chip WDM processing platform enabled by cascaded FSR-free resonators

Abstract

Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is pivotal for expanding the capacity and functionality of photonic systems, from communications to computing. However, on-chip implementation for broadband operation is fundamentally limited by the narrow free spectral range (FSR) and inefficient drop transmission of conventional optical microcavities. Here, we transcend this limit with a scalable integrated WDM processing platform based on cascaded dual-sided coupled Fabry-P\'erot add-drop resonators. This unit achieves a record-large FSR-free bandwidth (>300 nm) and low insertion loss (<0.5 dB), while enabling independent manipulation of monochromatic light in both the wavelength and intensity domains. Leveraging these performances, we architect programmable cores with up to 20 channels in a single bus waveguide to demonstrate application versatility by configuring as: a high-capacity on-chip WDM communication fabric (2.4-Tbps single-link WDM transmission and O-to-C-band multi-subband (de)triplexing), a reconfigurable optical processor (broadband and hitless wavelength-selective switching), and a parallel computing accelerator (theoretically capable of 1.28-TOPS convolution operations, 16-channel modulation). This work establishes a unified and versatile WDM processing platform that bridges high-speed optical communication with in-line computing, charting a scalable and backward-compatible path toward petabit-per-second-class links and hundreds of TOPS of on-chip computation, resolving a critical bottleneck for next-generation photonic systems.