1 x N (N=2, 8) Silicon Selector Switch for Prospective Technologies at the 2 μm Waveband

The 2 mu m waveband, specifically near 1.9 mu m, is an imperative resource that could possibly be exploited in future communications systems. This is due to the promising infrastructural developments at the wavelength region (hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber, thulium-doped fiber amplifier) near 1.9 mu m. In this work, we report the 1 x N selector switch based on Mach-Zehnder interferometers operating near the 1.9 mu m wavelength region. As an elementary cell ( N = 2), an insertion loss as low as 1.1 dB, P-pi of 23 mW, 10-90% switching time of lower than 38 mu s and a crosstalk of lower than -25 dB from 1880 to 1955 nm has been determined. In order to prove scalability, the 1 x 8 switch ( N = 8) is demonstrated, indicating crosstalk as low as -21 dB, considering all possible switching configurations across the abovementioned wavelength region. Insertion loss levels are examined.