A 1/spl times/8 InP/InGaAsP optical matrix switch with low insertion loss and high crosstalk suppression

We present a current controlled passive 1/spl times/8 InP/InGaAsP optical matrix switch for routing applications at wavelength 1.55 /spl mu/m. It is realized in a tree architecture and has integrated tapers for efficient fiber butt coupling. An AR coated device has average fiber-chip-fiber insertion losses of 6.8 and 6.3 dB for TE and TM polarizations, respectively. The homogeneity of the eight outputs is better than 0.3 dB in each polarization state. The crosstalk suppression is better than 19 dB. The performance of the device indicates that large InP-based switching matrices can be realized.