Polycrystalline silicon 2 x 2 Mach- Zehnder interferometer optical switch

In this paper, we demonstrate a broadband Mach-Zehnder interferometer optical switch based on polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si), which enables the development of multilayer photonics integrated circuits. The poly-Si is deposited under a low temperature of 620 degrees C to avoid unexpected thermal stress and influence on optoelectronic performance. By introducing a pi/2 phase shifter and a push-pull configuration, the switch achieved low power consumption and loss caused by carrier plasma absorption (CPA). The switch operates effectively in both Bar and Cross states at voltages of -3.35V and 3.85V. The power consumptions are 7.98mW and 9.39mW, respectively. The on-chip loss is 5.9 +/- 0.4 dB at 1550 nm, and the crosstalk is below -20 dB within the C-band. The switch exhibits a 10%-90% rise time of 7.7 mu s and a 90%-10% fall time of 3.4 mu s at 1550 nm. As far as we know, it is the first demonstration of a poly-Si switch on an 8-inch wafer pilot-line. The low-temperature deposited poly-Si switch is promising for multilayer active photonic devices and photonic-electronic applications.

Automated summary

This paper demonstrates a broadband Mach-Zehnder interferometer optical switch based on polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) that achieves low power consumption and loss. By introducing a phase shifter and a push-pull configuration, the switch operates effectively in both Bar and Cross states and meets specific performance requirements within a certain wavelength range. This is the first demonstration of a poly-Si switch on an 8-inch wafer pilot-line.