Cascaded Microresonator-Based Matrix Switch for Silicon On-ChipOpticalInterconnection Experiments have demonstrated proof of the concept that cascaded arrays of optical microresonators can switch interconnections as desired between multiple signal inputs and outputs without significant distortion.

This paper reviews developments in cascaded microresonator-based matrix switches for silicon photonic interconnection networks in many-core computing applica- tions. Specifically, we emphasize our recently proposed 5 � 5 matrix switch comprising two-dimensionally cascaded micror- ing resonator-based electrooptic switches coupled to a wave- guide cross-grid on a silicon chip. The cross-grid adopts low-loss low-crosstalk multimode-interference-based wave- guide crossings. Such a microresonator-based matrix switch offers nonblocking interconnections among multiple inputs and multiple outputs, with the key merits of i) a tens to hun- dreds of micrometers-scale footprint, ii) gigabit/second-scale data transmission, iii) nanosecond-speed circuit-switching, iv) 100-� W-scale dc power consumption per link, and v) large-scale integration for networks-on-chips applications. We analyze in detail the microring resonator-based cross-grid switch design for high-data-rate signal transmission in the context of our proposed 5 � 5 matrix switch. We also study the feasibility of large-scale integration of the matrix switch. We report proof-of-concept experiments of a single cross-grid switch element and a 2 � 2 matrix switch, propose design guidelines, and discuss future engineering challenges.

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