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Silicon photonic MEMS switches based on split waveguide crossings

Author

Listed:
  • Yinpeng Hu

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Yi Sun

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Ye Lu

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Huan Li

    (Zhejiang University
    Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Photonic Sensing & Intelligent Imaging
    Jiaxing Research Institute Zhejiang University)

  • Liu Liu

    (Zhejiang University
    Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Photonic Sensing & Intelligent Imaging
    Jiaxing Research Institute Zhejiang University)

  • Yaocheng Shi

    (Zhejiang University
    Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Photonic Sensing & Intelligent Imaging
    Jiaxing Research Institute Zhejiang University)

  • Daoxin Dai

    (Zhejiang University
    Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Photonic Sensing & Intelligent Imaging
    Jiaxing Research Institute Zhejiang University)

Abstract

The continuous push for high-performance photonic switches is one of the most crucial premises for the sustainable scaling of programmable and reconfigurable photonic circuits for a wide spectrum of applications. Conventional optical switches rely on the perturbative mechanisms of mode coupling or mode interference, resulting in inherent bottlenecks in their switching performance concerning size, power consumption and bandwidth. Here we propose and realize a silicon photonic 2×2 elementary switch based on a split waveguide crossing (SWX) consisting of two halves. The propagation direction of the incident light is manipulated to implement the OFF/ON states by splitting/combining the two halves of the SWX, showing excellent performance with low excess loss and low crosstalk over an ultrawide bandwidth. Both elementary switch and a 64×64 switch array based on Benes topology are fabricated and characterized, demonstrating great potential for practical scenarios such as photonic interconnect/routing, Lidar and spectroscopy, photonic computing, as well as microwave photonics.

Suggested Citation

  • Yinpeng Hu & Yi Sun & Ye Lu & Huan Li & Liu Liu & Yaocheng Shi & Daoxin Dai, 2025. "Silicon photonic MEMS switches based on split waveguide crossings," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-55528-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55528-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wim Bogaerts & Daniel Pérez & José Capmany & David A. B. Miller & Joyce Poon & Dirk Englund & Francesco Morichetti & Andrea Melloni, 2020. "Programmable photonic circuits," Nature, Nature, vol. 586(7828), pages 207-216, October.
    2. Derek M. Kita & Brando Miranda & David Favela & David Bono & Jérôme Michon & Hongtao Lin & Tian Gu & Juejun Hu, 2018. "High-performance and scalable on-chip digital Fourier transform spectroscopy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.
    3. Xiaosheng Zhang & Kyungmok Kwon & Johannes Henriksson & Jianheng Luo & Ming C. Wu, 2022. "A large-scale microelectromechanical-systems-based silicon photonics LiDAR," Nature, Nature, vol. 603(7900), pages 253-258, March.
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