title: Low-power, 2 x 2 silicon electro-optic switch with 110-nm bandwidth for broadband reconfigurable optical networks.
abstract: We present an ultra-broadband Mach-Zehnder based optical switch in silicon, electrically driven through carrier injection. Crosstalk levels lower than -17 dB are obtained for both the 'on' and 'off' switching states over an optical bandwidth of 110 nm, owing to the implementation of broadband 50% couplers. Full 2 x 2 switching functionality is demonstrated, with low power consumption (approximately 3 mW) and a fast switching time (< 4 ns). The utilization of standard CMOS metallization results in a low drive voltage (approximately 1 V) and a record-low V(pi)L (approximately 0.06 V x mm). The wide optical bandwidth is maintained for temperature variations up to 30 K.
authors.affiliation: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA. jvancam@us.ibm.com
authors.forename: Joris
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Campenhout
authors.forename: William M J
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Solomon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Assefa
authors.forename: Yurii A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Vlasov
mesh_terms: D003195:Computer Communication Networks / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004581:Electronics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004735:Energy Transfer; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D055096:Optical Devices; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon