FULL ANALYSIS OF AN ALL-OPTICAL PHOTONIC CRYSTAL SWITCH

Abstract

We analyze and propose an all-optical switch working over the C-band of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is based on nonlinear switching cells made of photonic crystal (PhC). Indeed, the nonlinear switching cells are directional couplers (DCs) embedded in PhC, which can work over the C-band of the ITU (wavelength from 1530 to 1565 nm). The nonlinear switching method uses a relatively low-power external command signal for obtaining nonlinear effects. This external command signal is inserted in the central coupling region of the DC, which acts as another waveguide. The switching process is based on the change from the cross state to the bar state owing to the external command signal. In our simulations we used the plane-wave expansion (PWE), finite-difference time-domain (FDTD), and our own binary propagation method (BiPM).