Non-blocking 4x4 electro-optic silicon switch for on-chip photonic networks

Abstract

We present a 4x4 spatially non-blocking Mach-Zehnder based ilicon optical switch fabricated using processes fully compatible with standard CMOS. We successfully demonstrate operation in all 9 unique switch states and 12 possible I/O routing configurations, with worst-case cross-talk levels lower than -9 dB, and common spectral bandwidth of 7 nm. High-speed 40 Gbps data transmission experiments verify optical data integrity for all input-output channels. © 2010 Optical Society of America.