Compact, Highly Efficient, and Controllable Simultaneous 2 x 2 Three-Mode Silicon Photonic Switch in the Continuum Band

Multimode switch (MMS) allows realizing multimode optical communication enabling high-speed communication. However, to develop such an ultrafast switch for simultaneous multimode with a compact size is very challenging. In this paper, we design and demonstrate a compact multimode 2 x 2 MMS based on numerical simulation methods using silicon Psi-junctions and multimode interference (MMI) couplers. The switch is controlled by thermal-optic phase shifters which is able to switch simultaneously states of the optical signal between three quasi-transverse electric modes. The MMS exhibits a low insertion loss from -1.5 dB to -3 dB, low crosstalk below -22 dB, and high extinction ratio larger than 22 dB in 40-nm bandwidth in the third telecom window from 1520 to 1560 nm, respectively. With a compact footprint of 12 mu m x 1300 mu m, the MMS exhibits relatively large dimensional tolerances. Besides, the MMS provides total electric power consumption levels smaller than 103 mW at an ultrafast switching time of 4.4 mu s without the impact of the plasmonic effect. Furthermore, the conceptual principle of the proposed MMS can be reconfigurable and scalable in dimensional multifunctional on-chip mode-division multiplexing optical interconnects and promising potential for photonic large scale integration circuits in the continuum band.

Automated summary

This paper presents a compact multimode optical switch based on numerical simulation methods using silicon Psi-junctions and multimode interference couplers, controlled by thermal-optic phase shifters. The switch demonstrates low insertion loss, low crosstalk, and high extinction ratio within a 40 nm bandwidth range, showing promise for use in photonic large scale integration circuits.