A Thermally Reconfigurable Photonic Switch Utilizing Drop Cast Vanadium Oxide Nanoparticles on Silicon Waveguides

Photonic switches play a vital role in optical communications and computer networks for establishing and releasing connections of optical signals. With the growing demand for ultra-compact switches in high-speed optical computing and communications, thermally reconfigurable optical switches have gained significant attention. These switches offer simplicity, ease of fabrication, and leverage a wide range of thermo-optic materials. Silicon remains an ideal platform for making photonic devices including the switches due to its compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology and cost-effectiveness. The article presents a drop cast sub-stoichiometric vanadium oxide (VO2-x) nanoparticles combined with a silicon ridge waveguide to make a compact thermally reconfigurable optical switch with low transition temperature and accelerated phase transition. Furthermore, the design achieves high modulation depth in addition to its scalability and simplicity. This study demonstrates the potential of solution-based VO2-x nanoparticles in combination with silicon waveguides for efficient optical switch design for various applications. This study highlights the development of an ultra-compact, thermally reconfigurable optical switch using sub-stoichiometric vanadium oxide (VO2-x) nanoparticles and silicon ridge waveguides. Leveraging the thermo-optic properties of VO2-x and silicon's complementary metal-oxide semiconductor compatibility, this design offers a low transition temperature, fast phase transition, and high modulation depth. It showcases the efficiency and scalability of combining solution-based VO2-x nanoparticles with silicon for advanced optical switching applications in high-speed computing and communications.image (c) 2024 WILEY-VCH GmbH