硅基热光、电光、全光开关及其阵列的研究进展

Thermo-optic, electro-optic, and all-optical switches and arrays

光开关在实现高速信息互连中扮演着重要的角色,受到人们的广泛关注。随着器件结构的不断创新以及半导体加工技术的不断改进,光开关的发展趋向于低功耗、高速和易集成等特点。文章介绍了功耗仅为540mW的热光开关,响应时间为4ns的电光开关和响应时间为25ps的全光开关,重点分析了这三种开关中存在的问题,并提出了解决方法,同时还探讨了开关在阵列化时应考虑的主要问题。

Recently, much attention has been focussed on optical switches, which play a criti- cal role in high speed data transmission. With the innovations in device design and fabrication, it is now possible to produce optical switches that consume low power, while being high speed and easy to integrate. In this paper, a thermo-optic switch with ultra-low power as low as 540μW, an ultra-fast electro-optic switch, and an all-optical switch with response times as fast as 4ns and 25ps, respectively, are first reviewed. Emphasis is put on the analysis and solutions to the problems involved. The main considerations in building a switch array are then explored and the future trends of optical switches envisaged.