FAST OPTICAL SWITCH AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN OPTICAL COMMUNICATION
A fast optical (with or without a photonic crystal) switch is fabricated/constructed, utilizing a phase change material, activated by either an electrical pulse (a voltage pulse or a current pulse) and/or a light pulse and/or pulses in terahertz (THz) frequency of a suitable field strength. The applications of such a fast optical switch for an on-demand optical add-drop subsystem, integrating with (a) a light slowing/light stopping component (based on metamaterials and/or nanoplasmonic structures) and (b) with or without a wavelength converter are also described.
1 . An optical switch comprising: a first optical waveguide and a second optical waveguide,
wherein the first optical waveguide is less than 5 microns in horizontal width,
wherein the second optical waveguide is less than 5 microns in horizontal width,
wherein a section of the first optical waveguide is substantially parallel within manufacturing tolerance to a section of the second optical waveguide,
wherein the section of the first optical waveguide is optically coupled with an ultra thin-film of a vertical thickness or a vertical depth less than 0.5 microns,
wherein the ultra thin-film comprises: a phase change material,
wherein the phase change material on the first optical waveguide is receiving a first stimulant, just to induce phase change in the phase change material on the first optical waveguide,
and/or,
wherein the section of the second optical waveguide is optically coupled with an ultra thin-film of a vertical thickness or a vertical depth less than 0.5 microns,
wherein the ultra thin-film comprises: the phase change material,
wherein the phase change material on the second optical waveguide is receiving a second stimulant, just to induce phase change in the phase change material on the second optical waveguide.
2 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein the horizontal width of the first optical waveguide is different than the horizontal width of the second optical waveguide.
3 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein a vertical thickness or a vertical depth of the first optical waveguide is different than a vertical thickness or a vertical depth of the second optical waveguide.
4 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein the first stimulant is selected from the group consisting of the following a first electrical pulse, a first light pulse and a first pulse in terahertz (THz) frequency of a suitable field strength, wherein the first electrical pulse is a voltage pulse or a current pulse.
5 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein the first stimulant comprises one or more of following a first electrical pulse, a first light pulse and a first pulse in terahertz (THz) frequency of a suitable field strength, wherein the first electrical pulse is a voltage pulse or a current pulse.
6 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein the second stimulant is selected from the group consisting of the following a second electrical pulse, a second light pulse and a second pulse in terahertz (THz) frequency of a suitable field strength, wherein the second electrical pulse is a voltage pulse or a current pulse.
7 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein the second stimulant comprises one or more of the following a second electrical pulse, a second light pulse, a second pulse in terahertz (THz) frequency of a suitable field strength and second hot electrons, wherein the second electrical pulse is a voltage pulse or a current pulse.
8 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical waveguide and/or the second optical waveguide is coupled with a one-dimensional (1-D) photonic crystal.
9 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical waveguide and/or the second optical waveguide is coupled with a two-dimensional (2-D) photonic crystal.
10 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein the phase change material is Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 (GST) or Ge 2 Sb 2 Se 4 Te 1 (GSST) or Ag 4 In 3 Sb 67 Te 26 (AIST).
11 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein the ultra thin-film comprises gratings of the phase change material.
12 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , further comprising directionally coupled optical waveguides or a multimode interference (MMI) coupler or a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometer.
13 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , further comprising coupling with a wavelength multiplexer or a wavelength demultiplexer.
14 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , further comprising coupling with a wavelength tunable multiplexer or a wavelength tunable demultiplexer.
15 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , further comprising coupling with a wavelength tunable photonic crystal multiplexer or a wavelength tunable photonic crystal demultiplexer.
16 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , further comprising coupling with an optical add-drop subsystem or an optical filter.
17 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , further comprising coupling with a ring resonator or a laser.
18 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , further comprising coupling with a wavelength converter.
19 . The optical switch according to claim 18 , comprising the wavelength converter, wherein the wavelength converter comprises As 2 S 3 chalcogenide material or two-dimensional (2-D) photonic crystal As 2 S 3 chalcogenide material or graphene on two-dimensional (2-D) photonic crystal silicon optical waveguide.
20 . The optical switch according to claim 18 , further comprising the wavelength converter,
wherein the wavelength converter comprises a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) or a quantum dot based semiconductor optical amplifier (QD-SOA).
21 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , further comprising coupling with a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) or a quantum dot based semiconductor optical amplifier (QD-SOA) or an erbium doped waveguide amplifier.
22 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , further comprising coupling with a nanoscaled modulator of lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ).
23 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , further comprising coupling with a light slowing component or a light stopping component, wherein the light slowing component or the light stopping component comprises metamaterials of negative refractive index or nanostructures.
24 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , comprises a gradually tapered waveguide for waveguide to optical fiber coupling.
25 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , comprises vertically coupled gratings for waveguide to optical fiber coupling.
26 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , wherein the phase change material is thermally coupled with a thin-film of diamond or aluminum oxide or boron arsenide.
27 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , is flip-chip mounted on a nanoscaled fin array and/or a heat dissipating substrate, wherein the nanoscaled fin array comprises an array of nanoscaled metal pillars embedded in a thermally conducting thin-film.
28 . The optical switch according to claim 1 , is temperature controlled by a thermoelectric cooler (TEC).
29 . An optical switch comprising: a first optical waveguide, a second optical waveguide and a third waveguide,
wherein the first optical waveguide is less than 5 microns in horizontal width,
wherein the second optical waveguide is less than 5 microns in horizontal width,
wherein the third optical waveguide is less than 5 microns in horizontal width,
wherein a section of the first optical waveguide is substantially parallel within manufacturing tolerance to a section of the second optical waveguide,
wherein a section of the second optical waveguide is substantially parallel within manufacturing tolerance to a section of the third optical waveguide,
wherein the section of the second optical waveguide is optically coupled with an ultra thin-film of a vertical thickness or a vertical depth less than 0.5 microns,
wherein the ultra thin-film on the second optical waveguide comprises: a phase change material,
wherein the phase change material on the second optical waveguide is receiving a stimulant, just to induce phase change in the phase change material on the second optical waveguide.
30 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein the horizontal width of the first optical waveguide is different than the horizontal width of the second optical waveguide.
31 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein the horizontal width of the second optical waveguide is different than the horizontal width of the third optical waveguide.
32 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein a vertical thickness or a vertical depth of the first optical waveguide is different than a vertical thickness or a vertical depth of the second optical waveguide.
33 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein a vertical thickness or a vertical depth of the second optical waveguide is different than a vertical thickness or a vertical depth of the third optical waveguide.
34 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein the stimulant is selected from the group consisting of the following an electrical pulse, a light pulse and a pulse in terahertz (THz) frequency of a suitable field strength, wherein the electrical pulse is a voltage pulse or a current pulse.
35 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein the stimulant comprises one or more of the following an electrical pulse, a light pulse and a pulse in terahertz (THz) frequency of a suitable field strength, wherein the second electrical pulse is a voltage pulse or a current pulse.
36 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein the first optical waveguide and/or the second optical waveguide and/or the third optical waveguide is coupled with a one-dimensional (1-D) photonic crystal.
37 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein the first optical waveguide and/or the second optical waveguide and/or the third optical waveguide is coupled with a two-dimensional (2-D) photonic crystal.
38 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein the phase change material is Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 (GST) or Ge 2 Sb 2 Se 4 Te 1 (GSST) or Ag 4 In 3 Sb 67 Te 26 (AIST).
39 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein the ultra thin-film comprises gratings of the phase change material.
40 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , further comprising directionally coupled optical waveguides or a multimode interference (MMI) coupler or a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometer.
41 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , further comprising coupling with a wavelength multiplexer or a wavelength demultiplexer.
42 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , further comprising coupling with a wavelength tunable multiplexer or a wavelength tunable demultiplexer.
43 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , further comprising coupling with a wavelength tunable photonic crystal multiplexer or a wavelength tunable photonic crystal demultiplexer.
44 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , further comprising coupling with an optical add-drop subsystem or an optical filter.
45 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , further comprising coupling with a ring resonator or a laser.
46 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , further comprising coupling with a wavelength converter.
47 . The optical switch according to claim 46 , comprising the wavelength converter, wherein the wavelength converter comprises As 2 S 3 chalcogenide material or two-dimensional (2-D) photonic crystal As 2 S 3 chalcogenide material or graphene on two-dimensional (2-D) photonic crystal silicon optical waveguide.
48 . The optical switch according to claim 46 , further comprising the wavelength converter,
wherein the wavelength converter comprises a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) or a quantum dot based semiconductor optical amplifier (QD-SOA).
49 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , further comprising coupling with a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) or a quantum dot based semiconductor optical amplifier (QD-SOA) or an erbium doped waveguide amplifier.
50 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , further comprising coupling with a nanoscaled modulator of lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ).
51 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , further comprising coupling with a light slowing component or a light stopping component, wherein the light slowing component or the light stopping component comprises metamaterials of negative refractive index or nanostructures.
52 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , comprises a gradually tapered waveguide for waveguide to optical fiber coupling.
53 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , comprises vertically coupled gratings for waveguide to optical fiber coupling.
54 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , wherein the phase change material is thermally coupled with a thin-film of diamond or aluminum oxide or boron arsenide.
55 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , is flip-chip mounted on a nanoscaled fin array and/or a heat dissipating substrate, wherein the nanoscaled fin array comprises an array of nanoscaled metal pillars embedded in a thermally conducting thin-film.
56 . The optical switch according to claim 29 , is temperature controlled by a thermoelectric cooler (TEC).
57 . An optical switch comprising: a first optical waveguide, a second optical waveguide and a third waveguide,
wherein the first optical waveguide is less than 5 microns in horizontal width,
wherein the second optical waveguide is less than 5 microns in horizontal width,
wherein the third optical waveguide is less than 5 microns in horizontal width,
wherein a section of the first optical waveguide is substantially parallel within manufacturing tolerance to a section of the second optical waveguide,
wherein a section of the second optical waveguide is substantially parallel within manufacturing tolerance to a section of the third optical waveguide,
wherein the section of the second optical waveguide is optically coupled with an ultra thin-film of thickness less than 0.5 microns,
wherein the ultra thin-film on the second optical waveguide comprises: a phase change material,
wherein the phase change material comprises one or more segments,
wherein the one segment has a separate bias electrode,
wherein the phase change material on the second optical waveguide is receiving a stimulant, just to induce phase change in the phase change material on the second optical waveguide.
58 . The optical switch according to claim 57 , wherein the horizontal width of the first optical waveguide is different than the horizontal width of the second optical waveguide.
59 . The optical switch according to claim 57 , wherein the horizontal width of the second optical waveguide is different than the horizontal width of the third optical waveguide.
60 . The optical switch according to claim 57 , wherein a vertical thickness or a vertical depth of the first optical waveguide is different than a vertical thickness or a vertical depth of the second optical waveguide.
61 . The optical switch according to claim 57 , wherein a vertical thickness or a vertical depth of the second optical waveguide is different than a vertical thickness or a vertical depth of the third optical waveguide.
62 . The optical switch according to claim 57 , wherein the stimulant is selected from the group consisting of the following an electrical pulse, a light pulse and a pulse in terahertz (THz) frequency of a suitable field strength, wherein the electrical pulse is a voltage pulse or a current pulse.
63 . The optical switch according to claim 57 , wherein the stimulant comprises one or more of following an electrical pulse, a light pulse and a pulse in terahertz (THz) frequency of a suitable field strength, wherein the electrical pulse is a voltage pulse or a current pulse.
64 . The optical switch according to claim 57 , wherein the phase change material is thermally coupled with a thin-film of diamond or aluminum oxide or boron arsenide.
65 . The optical switch according to claim 57 , is flip-chip mounted on a nanoscaled fin array and/or a heat dissipating substrate, wherein the nanoscaled fin array comprises an array of nanoscaled metal pillars embedded in a thermally conducting thin-film.