Design of integrated optical switches for use in fiber data transmission systems

We consider the design of polarization-insensitive multiple section microoptical switches/modulators. The ability to process arbitrarily polarized light is critical to the use of integrated optical devices with glass fiber transmission lines, due to the rapid changes in polarization state of light propagating in glass fibers. We show that multiple-section
\Delta\beta
-reversal switches have less severe fabricational tolerances than single-section switches, and can be made polarization independent. We present design criteria and describe the tradeoffs involved in fabricating practical devices.