Low-power-consumption polymer Mach–Zehnder interferometer thermo-optic switch at 532  nm based on a triangular waveguide

Abstract

We designed and fabricated a Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) thermo-optic switch with an inverted triangular waveguide. The inverted triangular waveguide achieves a fundamental mode in a large waveguide dimension, which can reduce the coupling loss and increase the extinction ratio. The triangular waveguide-based switch was simulated and presented higher heating efficiency and lower power consumption than that of the traditional rectangular waveguide-based switch. Compared with the traditional rectangular waveguide-based device, the power consumption of the proposed device is reduced by 60%. Spacing photobleaching was introduced to fabricate the inverted triangular waveguide and adjust the refractive index to minimize the mode number. The insertion loss of the typical fabricated device with a 2 cm length is about 7.8 dB. The device shows an extinction ratio of ∼ 8.1 d B at 532 nm with a very low power consumption of 2.2 mW, and the switching rise time and fall time are 110 and 130 µs, respectively. The proposed single-mode waveguide and low-power-consumption optical switch have great potential applications in visible optical communication fields such as wavelength division multiplexing and mode-division multiplexing.

Ultrawide Bandgap and High Sensitivity of a Plasmonic Metal-Insulator-Metal Waveguide Filter with Cavity and Baffles

“…Note that the SPP modes’ loss in larger wavelengths is more significant than those in smaller ones. This phenomenon is due to the SPP modes in larger wavelengths having more optical path and substantial power leaks from the MIM waveguides than the smaller ones, i.e., short wavelengths could decrease optical waveguide power consumption [ 82 ]. At λ res , the SPPs mode in the rectangular cavity can be excited, and the EM wave can be transmitted.…”

“…Thanks to the fast progress in nanophotonic, the fabrication of the proposed structure is achievable with current technologies [ 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 ], allowing the cost-effective fabrication over a large area. A similar structure of a MIM waveguide with a central-coupled rectangular cavity has previously been fabricated using physical vapor deposition and a focused ion beam for etching the rectangular cavity [ 79 ].…”

Highly Sensitive Liquid M-Z Waveguide Sensor Based on Polymer Suspended Slot Waveguide Structure

“…Regarding waveguide properties, waveguide structures and waveguide materials are two major research areas. Planar optical waveguide structures are widely adopted as a core sensing platform due to their mechanical stability, miniaturization, and ability to be mass produced [ 1 ]. Integrated waveguide optical sensors mainly include strip waveguides with a higher optical field interaction with the analyte than rectangular waveguides, exhibiting a better sensitivity performance.…”

Flexible Photonic Probes for New-Generation Brain–Computer Interfaces

“…Moreover, the temperature change produced by the thermal-optic switch could be further reduced. 8 OPA technology has been successfully demonstrated in the near-infrared region for beam steering and high-resolution applications. However, the commonly used optogenetic proteins are primarily sensitive to visible light.…”

“…The optical phased array (OPA) is another adopted emerging technique, which could realize nanobeam scanning in 3D space, potentially stimulating specific neurals over a large area in the deep brain. Moreover, the temperature change produced by the thermal-optic switch could be further reduced . OPA technology has been successfully demonstrated in the near-infrared region for beam steering and high-resolution applications.…”