100-GHz cross-cascaded arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs)-based wavelength selective optical switching optical cross-connects (OXCs) modules with Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) thermo-optic (TO) variable optical attenuator (VOA) arrays and optical true-time-delay (TTD) line arrays is successfully designed and fabricated using polymer photonic lightwave circuit. Highly fluorinated photopolymer and grafting modified organic-inorganic hybrid material were synthesized as the waveguide core and cladding, respectively. The one-chip transmission loss is ~6 dB and the crosstalk is less than ~30 dB for the transverse-magnetic (TM) mode. The actual maximum modulation depths of different thermo-optic switches are similar, ~15.5 dB with 1.9 V bias. The maximum power consumption of a single switch is less than 10mW. The delay time basic increments are measured from 140 to 20 ps. Proposed novel module is flexible and scalable for the dense wavelength division multiplexing network.

In this paper, a high-speed Mach–Zehnder interferometer type of electro-optic switch with coplanar waveguide electrodes was studied. The characteristic parameters of the switch were carefully designed and simulated. The fabrication was done by using standard semiconductor fabrication techniques such as spin-coating, photolithography, and wet etching. The device was fabricated based on electro-optic polymer-clad waveguides with the simple wet-etching procedure. The device shows a low insertion loss of about 7.3 dB. The measured switching rise time and fall time are 29.00 and 30.89 ns, respectively. This waveguide structure and the fabrication process are shown to be valuable for EO switches and modulators application.

•We optimized and fabricated an organic/inorganic hybrid thermo-optic switch.•The device reveals low switching power of 7.2 mW and fast response time of 100 μs.•The driving-noise-tolerance characteristics were investigated.•The minimum extinction ratio is larger 18 dB under a noise level of 2.5 Vpp.An organic/inorganic hybrid 2 × 2 directional coupler (DC) Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) thermo-optic (TO) switch was successfully designed and fabricated using simple direct ultraviolet photolithography process. The hybrid organic/inorganic waveguide structure includes poly-methyl-methacrylate-glycidyl-methacrylate (P(MMA-GMA)), SU-8 2005 and silica as core, upper cladding and under cladding, respectively. Device optimization and simulation were performed to decrease radiation loss and leakage loss, quicken response time and cut down power consumption. Measurements of the fabricated devices at 1550 nm wavelength result in a switching power of 7.2 mW, a response time of ∼100 μs, and crosstalk of −22.8 and −26.5 dB under cross state and bar state, respectively. Besides, the driving-noise-tolerance characteristics of this device were experimentally investigated by directly imposing a generated tunable noise on the pure driving signal (4 Vpp) and the minimum extinction ratio is larger than 18 dB under a noise level of 2.5 Vpp. The effect of noise on extinction ratio was found decreased with the increase of noise frequency.

A polymer/silica hybrid 2×2 directional coupler (DC) Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) thermo-optic (TO) switch is designed and carefully fabricated. Because of larger thermal conductivity relative to the polymer, silica is utilized as bottom cladding for accelerating heat release. The fabricated TO switch with polymer/silica hybrid structure exhibits low power consumption, less than 7.2 mW, fast rise time of about 106 μs and fast fall time of about 93 μs. This response time is reduced by 40% compared to that of the TO switch with polymer waveguide.

Structural model and design technique are proposed for a polymer 2×2 multimode interference-Mach Zehnder interferometer electro-optic (MMI-MZI EO) switch with push–pull electrodes. The electric field distribution is analyzed by the conformal transforming method and image method. To get the minimum mode loss and half-wave voltage, the parameters of the waveguide and electrodes are optimized, such as the core width, core thickness, buffer layer thickness, size of the MMI couplers and the modulating region, electrode thickness, electrode width, and electrode gap. Switching characteristics are analyzed, including the output power, crosstalk, and wavelength shift. Simulation results show that the half-wave voltage is 0.74 V, the optical 3 dB bandwidth is 12.66 GHz, and the crosstalk is less than −30 dB for the designed device.

A polarisation-insensitive electro-optic (EO) waveguide consisting of a dye-doped TiO2/SiO2 slab and a SU-8 strip-loaded rib is designed and fabricated. By optimizing the refractive index and size of waveguide, a trade-off between polarisation-insensitive condition and large EO efficiency (optical field interaction with the EO material) is obtained. The average transmission loss of the waveguide is less than 2.0 dB/cm. A Mach–Zehnder (M–Z) interferometer intensity modulator based on this waveguide with excellent poling stability is fabricated and measured, exhibiting 7 V half-wave voltage with 1.8 cm EO interaction length and 2.7 cm total length. This strip-loaded structure is proved to be a valuable application in EO modulators and switches.

A Multimode Interferometers–Mach Zehnder Interference (MMI–MZI) polymer 2 × 2 thermo-optic switch is proposed using the thermo-optical effect of polymer materials and fabricated by simple direct ultraviolet photolithography process. We utilize a cross-linkable negative photoresist as core material. Once exposed to ultraviolet light through a photomask, the waveguide strips can be obtained upon development. The experiment results show that the switch has a low switching power of less than 7.5 mW.