Programmable Dynamically-Controlled Silicon Photonic Switch Fabric

Dynamically-controlled optical switches can enable novel functionalities in future high-performance computing and data center systems, including resource allocation and real-time routing. These capabilities can improve system robustness, performance, as well as overall power consumption. Silicon (Si) photonic switch fabrics are capable of nanosecond-scale switching, thus making them potentially attractive for dynamic reconfiguration at data packet rates, which are typically in the GHz range and are made via CMOS-compatible processes for smooth process integration. In this paper, we explore the dynamic control of data signals through an Si photonic switch matrix and demonstrate a programming interface for configuring the switch. Our associated control algorithm is shown to provide the capability for dynamically reallocating the optical power through multicasting for robust operation in case the optical loss changes along a given path. The scheme is shown to operate error-free with 40 Gb/s line rate data streams in a 4×4 Si photonic switch fabric.