Polymer-based 1 × 6 thermooptic switch incorporating an elliptic TIR waveguide mirror

A polymeric 1 × 6 thermooptic switch is fabricated and demonstrated. The device utilizes an elliptic total internal reflection waveguide mirror imaging the input channel waveguide onto the first output channel waveguide and a prism-array heating electrode steering the beam to corresponding output channel waveguides. At 1310 nm, 1 × 6 switching was demonstrated; the extinction ratios and crosstalks were found to be >20 and -20 dB, respectively. Switching time as low as 4 ms was observed. The device offers the advantage of a single-electrode driving scheme for 1×N(N>2) switching.