High performance optical switches integrated with silica-based planar lightwave circuits on Si

摘要

Space-division optical switches are key devices for constructing such optical wavelength division multiplexing systems as optical crossconnect and add-drop multiplexing systems. We have been developing many types of planar-lightwave-circuits switches (PLC-SWs) on Si substrates using the thermo-optic effect of silica glass. These switches have good levels of performance including low loss, a high extinction ratio, and high reliability, in addition to the advantage of allowing flexible circuit design. In this paper, I review recent progress on silica-based PLC-SWs including N×N and 1×N switches, and an N×N switching sub-system. I also mention the high reliability of PLC-SWs and a new PLC-SW structure designed for low power consumption.