Optical Switch Based on Ge2Sb2Se4Te1-Assisted Racetrack Microring

In this work, we have proposed and designed a 1 x 1 optical switch based on the optical phase-change material, Ge2Sb2Se4Te1 (GSST), for GSST-assisted silicon racetrack microring. Its optical power can periodically be exchanged between the straight silicon waveguide and the GSST/Si hybrid racetrack waveguide due to the formed directional coupling structure. By changing GSST from the crystalline state to the amorphous state, the switch shifts from the ON state to the OFF state, and vice versa. With finite-difference time-domain method optimization, the proposed switch shows an extinction ratio of 18 dB at 1547.4 nm. The insert losses at the ON and OFF states are both less than 1 dB. The proposed switch unit has the potential to build an N x N switch matrix.