Optical 4x4 hitless slicon router for optical networks-on-chip (NoC)

We demonstrate here a spatially non-blocking optical 4x4 router with a footprint of 0.07 mm2 for use in future integrated photonic interconnection networks. The device is dynamically switched using thermo-optically tuned silicon microring resonators with a wavelength shift to power ratio of 0.25nm/mW. The design can route four optical inputs to four outputs with individual bandwidths of up to 38.5 GHz. All tested configurations successfully routed a single-wavelength laser and provided a maximum extinction ratio larger than 20 dB.