GaAs based long-wavelength microring resonator optical switches utilising bias assisted carrier-injection induced refractive index change

Abstract

We propose and analyse a GaAs-based optical switch having a ring resonator configuration which can switch optical telecommunication signals over the 1300 nm and 1500 nm bands, using bias assisted carrier injection as the switching mechanism. The switching is achieved through variation in the refractive index of the ring resonator produced by changing the injected carrier density through the application of bias voltage. Detail analysis of the switching characteristics reveals that the amount of switching depends on the refractive index change, which indeed is a strong function of injected carrier density and applied bias voltage. An isolation of 25 dB can be achieved during the ON state, while more than 40 dB isolation is realised during the OFF state. More importantly, our analysis shows that the proposed GaAs-based switch can operate over the 1300 nm and 1500 nm optical telecommunication bands, that are much farther from the bandgap of the GaAs material, without the need for "conventional" Indium based ternary and quaternary semiconductor materials. It therefore extends the usable wavelength of GaAs based optoelectronic devices. Furthermore, we have presented detail calculations to quantify power-delay metric of the proposed device. The proposed optical switch maintains a smaller footprint as when compared to Mach-Zehnder Interferometer or Directional Coupler based switches therefore, making it suitable for large scale integration and implementing next generation optical interconnects, optical communication and computing.