Abstract

A wide variety of integrated-optical 2×2 switch designs have been either proposed or demonstrated.^1-3 Here we report the initial demonstration of a 2×2 switch⁴ consisting of a Mach-Zehnder interferometric modulator and asymmetric Y-branch mode splitters. This switch design contains neither directional couplers which have critical fabrication tolerances nor active mode splitters which require large drive voltages. In this initial device we have demonstrated switching at a wavelength of 1.15 μm with crosstalk of less than -15 dB.

© 1988 Optical Society of America