A 1X8 INP INGAASP OPTICAL MATRIX SWITCH WITH LOW INSERTION LOSS AND HIGH CROSSTALK SUPPRESSION/

We present a current controlled passive 1 x 8 InP/InGaAsP optical matr ix switch for routing applications at wavelength 1.55 mu m. It is real ized in a tree architecture and has integrated tapers for efficient fi ber butt coupling. An AR coated device has average fiber-chip-fiber in sertion losses of 6.8 and 6.3 dB for TE and TM polarizations, respecti vely. The homogeneity of the eight outputs is better than 0.3 dB in ea ch polarization state. The crosstalk suppression is better than 19 dB. The performance of the device indicates that large InP-based switchin g matrices can be realized.