Proposed 2 X 2 Switch Applies Photonic Crystals

Collaborators at the University of Delaware in Newark and the US Air Force Research Laboratory at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., have modeled and analyzed the performance of 2-D directional coupler switches based on silicon pillars in air and on perforated silicon slab photonic crystals. The proposed 2 X 2 channel-waveguide design controls switching by inducing optical loss between two proximate parallel line defects in either a dielectric post or perforated slab matrix.

In the Oct. 7 issue of Optics Express, the researchers describe 1.55-µm finite difference time-domain analysis of their devices to predict low insertion loss and crosstalk below -23 dB in both switching states. They plan to improve the design to enable complete switching with lower conductance.