Abstract
A proof-of-concept for a new and entirely CMOS compatible thermo-optic reconfigurable switch based on a coupled ring resonator structure is experimentally demonstrated in this paper. Preliminary results show that a single optical device is capable of combining several functionalities, such as tunable filtering, non-blocking switching and reconfigurability, in a single device with compact footprint (~50 μm x 30 μm).
Highlights
Several research groups have developed essential building blocks and proof-of-concept devices overcoming some of the challenges of Silicon platforms, for example: efficient coupling systems from optical fibers to optical waveguides [2], low-loss optical waveguides [3], resonators [4], electro-optic devices [4, 5], all optical devices [6], tunable thermo-optical devices [7, 8], devices insensitive to temperature [9], amongst many others
There are still many challenges that need to be overcome in order to consolidate this technology and allow the integration of large systems, with a myriad of functionalities in a single photonic chip based on Silicon platform
The Vernier effect is an effective and well known approach to increase the free spectral range (FSR) of devices based on resonant cavities, leading to desirable characteristics in applications such as optical sensors and building blocks for communication systems [10,11,12,13,14]
Summary
Silicon photonics has been considered a very promising technology, mainly due to its intrinsic characteristic of allowing high integration of optical devices in small footprints and to its synergy with existing CMOS processes, promising to be useful in a wide range of applications, comprising: conventional long-distance down to intra-chip communications, optical sensors in general, as well as many others [1]. Such a device is promising to be useful in applications that require optical signal processing, such as equalization, filtering, and switching of optical signals [1]. In order to overcome the foreseen difficulties of phase matching, the principle of operation of our proposed device consists on individually controlling the optical length of each ring resonator This is achieved by introducing micro-heaters on top the ring resonators, allowing fine adjustments in phase matching between both ring resonators. This paper is organized as follow: in the second section, the proposed device is mathematically analyzed by means of scattering parameters; in the third section, the fabricated device and fabrication process are discussed; in the fourth section, results are presented; and some conclusions are shown
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