Modulation of coupling in a photonic switch by resonant interference

Abstract

A novel photonic switch structure is described in which the coupling of light between two fiber waveguides is controlled by the resonant interference of a third waveguide. The switching action is controlled by a small variation of the index of refraction of the control waveguide by the application of either photo-optical (Kerr) techniques or electro-optical (Pockels) techniques. The control waveguide can be either a fiber waveguide or a slab waveguide. The equations for the waveguide coupling were obtained by analytical approximations from coupled-mode theory. A beam-propagation simulation was also used. The results of the two models were compared. Multiple resonant interferences were observed in the case of a slab waveguide.