Microring-Based $N \times N$ Scalable Polymeric Electrooptic Routing Switch Array: Theory, Architecture, and Design Scheme

Device architecture and design scheme of an N × N scalable electrooptic (EO) routing switch array (RSA) are proposed using electric-field-induced EO polymeric microrings. The basic 2 × 2 /cross/bar EO switching element is optimized under 1550-nm wavelength, and the ring radius is only 13.76 μm with <; 10^-4 dB/cm bending loss. The basic element reveals a free spectral range (FSR) of 17 nm, a switching voltage of 5 V, and response times of 70/140 ps, and the crosstalk under cross and bar states are about -28.8 and -39.9 dB, respectively. Using 2 × 2 switching elements, 4 × 4, 8 × 8, 16 × 16, and 32 × 32 RSAs are presented, under all routing paths, their maximum insertion losses are 2.57, 5.19, 5.99 and 7.59 dB, respectively, and their maximum crosstalk are - 28.7, -28.7, - 26.27 and -25.07 dB, respectively. Universal structure, routing scheme, electrical/optical responses, and dynamic power consumption (PC) of N × N RSA are then demonstrated, and dependence relations between routing performances and the RSA size N are achieved through data fitting. Comparisons with other reported passive/active routers/switches confirm that, due to superiority on fewer rings, picosecond faster response speed, zero static PC, and lower insertion loss and crosstalk, this polymer-based routing scheme can be a good candidate in on-chip optical systems.