Optical Switching

13Silicon Photonic Switches

Nadir Ali, Mohammad Faraz Abdullah, and Rajesh Kumar

Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India

13.1 Introduction

A switch is a crucial component of optical networks in long‐haul fiber‐optic communication and data centers. A major function of the switch is routing signals from multiple input ports to multiple output ports. Over the years, the exponential rise in data traffic over optical communication networks has resulted in unsustainable energy usage and complexity in the network. The use of electrical switches in optical networks is energy‐inefficient and a major source of heat generation in data centers. Photonic switches offer numerous advantages over electrical switches, including higher energy efficiency, faster switching response time, larger bandwidth, and minimal heat generation. Silicon photonics has emerged as the preferred technology platform for integrated, reconfigurable, and low‐cost photonic switching devices due to silicon’s excellent material properties and existing mature fabrication process.

In this chapter, we will cover some of the emerging switching technologies based on silicon photonics. The switching technologies covered in this chapter are organized as follows. Section 13.2 lists the crucial performance parameters of switching devices. Section 13.3 presents an introduction and motivation for the silicon photonics platform for switching applications. Section 13.4 describes the associated ...