Bias-free, low power and optically driven membrane InP switch on SOI for remotely configurable photonic packet switches

A small footprint integrated Membrane InP Switch (MIPS) on Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) is demonstrated for use in all-optical packet switching. The device consists of an optically pumped III–V membrane waveguide of only 100nm thick, coupled to the underlying SOI waveguide circuit. Because of its limited thickness, the optical confinement in the active layers is maximized, allowing for high extinction ratio of over 30dB when applying a low power optical pump signal, over the entire C-band. The switch has 400/1300ps on/off switching times and no measurable pattern dependence or switching related power penalties for a bitrate up to 40Gb/s, using a switching power of only 2dBm.