WDM Switching Module Based on Active Microring Resonators: Applications to Metro Networks

The switching properties of a resonator consisting of two serially cascaded active micro rings are reported. The switching is achieved through the variation of the refractive index and the losses of the micro rings with current injection, which alters the overall output spectral response. The switch is suitable for optical burst switching systems and metro architectures as it provides fast optical switching in the ns scale with contrast ratio higher than 30 dB for 10 Gbps intensity modulated signals. Its potential applications to a metro network node are discussed.