High-speed 2×2 silicon-based electro-optic switch with nanosecond switch time

A 2×2 electro-optic switch is experimentally demonstrated using the optical structure of a Mach--Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on a submicron rib waveguide and the electrical structure of a PIN diode on silicon-on-insulator (SOI). The switch behaviour is achieved through the plasma dispersion effect of silicon. The device has a modulation arm of 1 mm in length and cross-section of 400 nm × 340 nm. The measurement results show that the switch has a V_\piL_\pi figure of merit of 0.145 V\cdotcm and the extinction ratios of two output ports and cross talk are 40 dB, 28 dB and -28 dB, respectively. A 3 dB modulation bandwidth of 90 MHz and a switch time of 6.8 ns for the rise edge and 2.7 ns for the fall edge are also demonstrated.