An Easily Operating Polymer 1×4 Optical Waveguide Switch Matrix Based on Vertical Couplers

A three-dimensional (3D) polymer thermo-optic (TO) 1×4 waveguide switch
matrix based on vertical couplers is demonstrated. It consists of four basic 3D switch units and because of its 3D structure, its construction is compact, only 9mm in length; moreover, the control logic of the entire switch is very simple, the light signal can be easily switched to any output port by operating only a single switch unit. The finished devices exhibit a switching extinction ratio greater than 21dB for all of four output ports and the crosstalk between two
adjacent output ports is lower than -19dB. The rise time and the fall time of the switch matrix are 0.8ms and 1.4ms, respectively. The required electrical power to initiate the switching function for all switching units is about 50mW.