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Main Authors: Wang, Hongyu, Gao, Xudong, Luo, Chuanneng, Yu, Haijiang, Tao, Mengxue, Qin, Hanlin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.17263
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author Wang, Hongyu
Gao, Xudong
Luo, Chuanneng
Yu, Haijiang
Tao, Mengxue
Qin, Hanlin
author_facet Wang, Hongyu
Gao, Xudong
Luo, Chuanneng
Yu, Haijiang
Tao, Mengxue
Qin, Hanlin
contents All-optical switching technology is a key solution to the future energy crisis in AI computing, where the performance of optical switches plays a critical role. Conventional integrated optical switches typically suffer from poor robustness to voltage fluctuations, fabrication variations, and temperature drifts. These limitations necessitate complex high-precision real-time calibration and control circuits, which greatly restrict their practical use. This paper presents a digital optical switch based on a thermally tuned multimode waveguide grating (MWG) filter. The switch maintains its on- and off-states across two voltage ranges: 0-0.7 V and 1.1-1.7 V, with a wide operating voltage margin of 0.6 V. It also exhibits excellent robustness to fabrication variations and temperature drifts. By introducing an innovative combination of positive dispersion and parabolic apodization design, the power consumption is reduced by two-thirds, reaching a maximum of only 6 mW. Owing to its low power consumption and wide voltage range, the device can be directly driven by digital signals, allowing for a simplified driver circuitry and a significant reduction in both energy use and overall cost. In addition, the switch offers low insertion loss (<0.5 dB), high extinction ratio (>20 dB), and fast switching (300 μs), demonstrating excellent overall performance and promising application prospects.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_17263
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Digital Optical Switch Based on a Thermally Tuned Multimode Waveguide Grating Filter
Wang, Hongyu
Gao, Xudong
Luo, Chuanneng
Yu, Haijiang
Tao, Mengxue
Qin, Hanlin
Optics
All-optical switching technology is a key solution to the future energy crisis in AI computing, where the performance of optical switches plays a critical role. Conventional integrated optical switches typically suffer from poor robustness to voltage fluctuations, fabrication variations, and temperature drifts. These limitations necessitate complex high-precision real-time calibration and control circuits, which greatly restrict their practical use. This paper presents a digital optical switch based on a thermally tuned multimode waveguide grating (MWG) filter. The switch maintains its on- and off-states across two voltage ranges: 0-0.7 V and 1.1-1.7 V, with a wide operating voltage margin of 0.6 V. It also exhibits excellent robustness to fabrication variations and temperature drifts. By introducing an innovative combination of positive dispersion and parabolic apodization design, the power consumption is reduced by two-thirds, reaching a maximum of only 6 mW. Owing to its low power consumption and wide voltage range, the device can be directly driven by digital signals, allowing for a simplified driver circuitry and a significant reduction in both energy use and overall cost. In addition, the switch offers low insertion loss (<0.5 dB), high extinction ratio (>20 dB), and fast switching (300 μs), demonstrating excellent overall performance and promising application prospects.
title A Digital Optical Switch Based on a Thermally Tuned Multimode Waveguide Grating Filter
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.17263