Strictly Non-blocking 8×8 Electro-optic Silicon Mach-Zehnder Switch with <−40 dB Crosstalk

Inhalt:
We report for the first time a strictly non-blocking 8×8 electro-optic silicon photonic switch that counterbalances free-carrier-absorption loss in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer cells by harnessing self-heating effect. Experimentally, we demonstrate a record-low crosstalk ratio of −40 dB and on-chip loss of as low as 8.5 dB.