Directional and Contra-Directional Coupling in Huygens’ Metawaveguide Microring Resonators

Huygens’ metawaveguides represent a transformative concept in photonic device engineering, enabling unprecedented control over light propagation. This study presents, for the first time, integrated Huygens’-based microring resonators and directional and contra-directional couplers, specifically designed for operation at the S- and C-band telecommunication wavelengths. By leveraging the unique properties of resonant Huygens’ waveguides, we demonstrate efficient evanescent directional coupling with high-Q resonators, characterized by negative group index and near-zero dispersion, which are critical for enhancing performance in compact, high-performance add-drop filters. The research further explores the implications of these novel structures on group index and group velocity dispersion, providing insights into their potential applications in nonlinear optics and quantum information technologies. Notably, the introduction of a hybrid subwavelength grating-Huygens’ contra-directional coupler facilitates backward coupling between resonant and nonresonant metawaveguides, achieving a broad spectral rejection bandwidth. Our findings advance the integration of resonant metamaterials into scalable photonic platforms, laying the groundwork for innovative applications in optical communications, quantum photonics and sensing systems.