Advanced Routing Strategy with Highly-Efficient Fabric-Wide Characterization for Optical Integrated Switches

Optical switch fabrics are regarded as key enablers for future optical interconnects and access networks to meet the increasing demand for communication bandwidth. We begin with a review of the state-of-the-art optical switching technologies based on the silicon integration platform with special attention to MZI-based switching devices, together with insights on their performance limitations and scalability considerations. We will then discuss the recent progress on the advanced routing strategy to intentionally avoid the worst-case performance of the switch and relax the receiver dynamic range requirements. Furthermore, a highly-efficient fabric-wide method for calibration and characterization of integrated switches without the need of built-in power monitors is presented. This technique can substantially reduce the cost and complexity for device integration and packaging, which can be leveraged to facilitate the fast generation of optimal routing tables through a fully automated process.