4$\,\times\,$44 Gb/s Packet-Level Switching in a Second-Order Microring Switch

Abstract

We demonstrate simultaneous switching of wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) data consisting of four 44-Gb/s channels (176 Gb/s total) through an electro-optically active second-order microring switch with a 0.7-ns rise and a 3.4-ns fall time. The higher order microring device allows fast simultaneous switching of multiple high data rate WDM channels. We verify the correct active switching operation and low resultant power penalties on both switch output ports. The ability to switch multiple high data rate channels simultaneously at high speed with low power consumption makes higher order ring switches attractive components for silicon photonic switching fabrics.