Ultimate-low-power-consumption, polarization-independent, and high-speed polymer Mach-Zehnder thermo-optic switch

We demonstrate a compact, ultimate-low-power-consumption, polarization-independent, and high-speed polymer Mach-Zehnder 2times2 photonic switch. Our thermo-optic switch operates with less than 4mW of power consumption via a small-area heater, which is, to our best knowledge, the lowest value of its switch type reported to date. The polarization independent switching crosstalk is less than -25dB while the switching rise and fall times obtained are 90mus and 160mus, respectively.

1. Introduction

Polymer-based photonic devices offer flexibilities and alternatives in fabrication and cost effectiveness over common semiconductor photonic devices. On the other hand, realization of low power consumption has become a significant issue with thermo-optic switches, in particular. For these purposes, we presented a single MMI-coupler-based photonic switch [1] using polymer materials that operated with low power consumption and low crosstalk [2]. Thermo-optic switches are known to operate under 50mW using silica waveguides [3], while recently, there has been reports on reducing the power consumption of VOA switches as part of the PLC switch to 20mW [4]. In this paper, we present the ultimate-low-power-consumption polymer 2×2 switch operating at less than 4mW, which is the lowest value to our best knowledge. Our work is based on thermally stable all-polymer materials on top of silicon substrate to facilitate effective heat flow originated from a small-area thin-film heater. We present the device design and experimental results including polarization-independent, low crosstalk, and high-speed switching operation.