Acta Optica Sinica, Volume. 42, Issue 22, 2213001(2022)
N×N Optofluidic Switch Array with Pneumatic Actuation
An N×N optical switch array, which uses a 2×2 optofluidic switch as the switch unit, is proposed in this paper. This switch array adopts a waveguide structure and utilizes the microfluidic pneumatic actuation and piezoelectric ceramic valves to control the relative positions of gas and liquid in each microchannel and thus achieve the optical path selection and switching function. Meanwhile, two topologies of partial blocking and complete non-blocking optical N×N switch arrays are also presented. The optimal path and optical transmission characteristics of the N×N optical switch array are researched and discussed, and the structure is optimized. The research results reveal that the insertion loss and crosstalk are much lower than those of general optical switch arrays. For the wavelength of 1550 nm, the insertion loss of the 4×4 optical switch array is 0.28 dB-0.54 dB, and the maximum crosstalk is -43.5 dB--23.2 dB. This paper implements the optofluidic switch array and solves the common problems of large insertion loss and crosstalk in general optical switch arrays. Moreover, the proposed array has the advantages of good array controllability, negligible polarization-dependent loss, and a broad band (from visible light to near-infrared bands).
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Jing Wan, Mingrui Guo, Wei Zhang, Lie Meng, Tingjie Yu. N×N Optofluidic Switch Array with Pneumatic Actuation[J]. Acta Optica Sinica, 2022, 42(22): 2213001
Category: Integrated Optics
Received: Mar. 11, 2022
Accepted: May. 30, 2022
Published Online: Nov. 7, 2022
The Author Email: Wan Jing (wanj@njupt.edu.cn)