Performance improvement of an EAM-based broadcast-and-select optical switch module

We present a performance-improved broadcast-and-select optical switch based on an EAM-gate array with a higher optical-coupling efficiency and eliminated electrical crosstalk. The coupling of optical fibers to the switch EAM-array has been improved by introducing spot size converters realized with a simple fabrication process, whereas the electrical crosstalk has been suppressed by introducing a novel surface-ground electrode that provides an easy replacement for the regrowth process usually demanded for the EAMs electrical isolation. The fabricated module exhibits a fast switching time (<;8 ns), low coupling loss (<;3.5 dB/facet), small loss-deviation among its ports (<;1.6 dB), and low PDL (<;0.9 dB).