Open AccessPerformance influence of carrier absorption to the Mach-Zehnder-interference based silicon optical switches
Author(s) -
Haifeng Zhou,
Yue Zhao,
Wanjun Wang,
Jianyi Yang,
Minghua Wang,
Xiaoqing Jiang
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.17.007043
Subject(s) - crosstalk , silicon , optics , materials science , silicon photonics , optical switch , mach–zehnder interferometer , phase modulation , optoelectronics , physics , interferometry , phase noise
The free carrier absorption effect in silicon modulation is a detrimental behavior that can influence the crosstalk of interference-based optical switches. Based on the experimental analysis of a 2x2 p-i-n silicon switch, we give a conservative estimate of the crosstalk ability of Mach-Zehnder optical switches. Experimental result shows that, while using a 1475 microm-long phase shifter, the loss penalty almost reaches 1.45 dB/pi, which deteriorates the most ideal crosstalk to just 30 dB. The possible solutions to overcome this limitation are also discussed at the cost of the other device performance.