8X8 Optical Waveguide Switch Using Liquid Crystal

Abstract

A compact 8x8 optical waveguide matrix switch, with liquid crystal claddin°g on a planer waveguide film, was realized by making use of the large switching angle of 12. In the switch, 64 switching elements were arranged in a 4 mm x 40 mm area, based on a liquid crystal orientation analysis and a ray trace analysis. The switch exhibited 6.8 dB insertion loss and -20.2 dB crosstalk on the average, at 1.3 μm wavelength. A broad-band transmission capability of 400 Mb/s was demonstrated in a transmission experiment.