Open AccessUltra-compact silicon photonics switch with high-density thermo-optic heaters
Author(s) -
Ryotaro Konoike,
Keijiro Suzuki,
Shu Namiki,
Hitoshi Kawashima,
Kazuhiro Ikeda
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.27.010332
Subject(s) - miniaturization , photonics , optical switch , materials science , silicon , silicon photonics , phase shift module , crossover switch , optoelectronics , optics , insertion loss , nanotechnology , physics
Miniaturization of silicon photonics switches is essential for both dense integration and low-loss operation. However, it has remained unclear how small the switches can be made while using thermo-optic (TO) element switches. In this paper, the minimum possible distance between adjacent TO phase shifter arms was first examined. Next, the architecture for a switch matrix for the high-density arrangement of TO switches that includes multi-layer electrical wirings for compact electrical wire-out was proposed and demonstrated. As a result, we achieved 1/23 miniaturization of an 8 × 8 silicon photonics switch for the PIC part when compared with our previous design.