High performace silicon 2x2 optical switch based on a thermo-optically tunable multimode interference coupler and efficient electrodes

Optical switches based on tunable multimode interference (MMI) couplers can simultaneously reduce the footprint and increase the tolerance against fabrication deviations. Here, a compact 2x2 silicon switch based on a thermo-optically tunable MMI structure with a footprint of only 0.005mm2 is propose...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rosa Escutia, Álvaro, Gutiérrez Campo, Ana María, Brimont, Antoine Christian Jacques, Griol Barres, Amadeu, Sanchis Kilders, Pablo|||0000-0003-2984-4218
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Repositorio:RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/74354
Acceso en línea:https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/74354
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Switch
Electro-optical devices
Tunable multimode interference
Thermo-optic effect
Efficient electrodes
TEORIA DE LA SEÑAL Y COMUNICACIONES
Descripción
Sumario:Optical switches based on tunable multimode interference (MMI) couplers can simultaneously reduce the footprint and increase the tolerance against fabrication deviations. Here, a compact 2x2 silicon switch based on a thermo-optically tunable MMI structure with a footprint of only 0.005mm2 is proposed and demonstrated. The MMI structure has been optimized using a silica trench acting as a thermal isolator without introducing any substantial loss penalty or crosstalk degradation. Furthermore, the electrodes performance have significantly been improved via engineering the heater geometry and using two metallization steps. Thereby, a drastic power consumption reduction of around 90% has been demonstrated yielding to values as low as 24.9 mW. Furthermore, very fast switching times of only 1.19 μs have also been achieved.