NONVOLATILE SILICON PHOTONIC SWITCHES ENABLED BY WAVEGUIDE EMBEDDED PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL

Abstract

After decades of subsequent development and upgrades, the current electronic system’s progress is hampered by the decline of Moore’s law and the inept handling of high data rates. In the internet era, the demand for electronic systems capable of handling tremendous data rates quickly and efficiently is increasing day by day. Such a huge explosion in data rate will burden the existing electronics telecommunication networks, pushing scalability and power consumption limits in the data centers. The metal interconnects are incapable of handling large bandwidth. Electronic switches are one of the crucial components of data centers. These switches require opticalelectrical- optical (O-E-O) conversion whenever a signal needs to switch, consuming extra power, and generating more heat. Electrical switches are highly dependent on operating bandwidth; therefore, these switches restrict the bandwidth carried by the optical fibers and require frequent updates as the bandwidth of the network increases, making their use cost-ineffective. Moreover, these switches are highly dependent on protocols and computing instructions, making it challenging to upgrade switching networks. Optics can overcome electronics bottlenecks by offering high bandwidth, low power consumption, low latency, and no electronic interference. In the past, optics has revolutionized long-distance telecommunication by replacing electrical cables with optical fibers. With the success of optics in long-range telecommunications, researchers are now exploiting optics for short-range communication, complex data analysis, and processing applications at inter-chip and intra-chip levels.