8X8 OPTICAL MATRIX SWITCH USING SILICA-BASED PLANAR LIGHTWAVE CIRCUITS

A strictly nonblocking 8 X 8 matrix switch was designed and fabricated using silica-based planar lightwave circuits (PLC) on a silicon subst rate. The average insertion loss was 11 dB in the TE mode and 11.3 dB in the TM mode. The average switch element extinction ratio was 16.7 d B in the TE mode and 17.7 dB in the TM mode. The accumulated crosstalk was estimated to be 7.4 dB in the TE mode and 7.6 dB in the TM mode. The driving power of the phase shifter required for switching was abou t 0.5 W and the polarization dependence of the switching power was 4 % . The switching response time was 1.3 msec. The wavelength range with a switch extinction ratio of over 15 dB was 1.31 mum +/- 30 nm.