Silicon Photonics based 1×2 Wavelength Selective Switch Using Fold-Back Arrayed-Waveguide Gratings

Abstract

We report on a novel design of a wavelength selective switch (WSS) using silicon photonics technology. It comprises of 1×4 interleavers, arrayed-waveguide gratings (AWGs) connected to fold-back waveguides, and 1×2 optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer switches. In the proposed WSS, fold-back waveguides enable the AWGs to be used for both demultiplexing and multiplexing. Therefore the WSS has less waveguide crossings than a conventional configuration. Moreover, a 20-channel, 200-GHz spacing, 1×2 fold-back type WSS was fabricated on 5 mm×10 mm SOI chip using CMOS technology.