Rearrangeable nonblocking SOI waveguide thermooptic 4×4 switch matrix with low insertion loss and fast response

A rearrangeable nonblocking 4×4 thermooptic silicon-on-insulator waveguide switch matrix at 1.55-μm integrated spot size converters is designed and fabricated for the first time. The insertion losses and polarization-dependent losses of the four channels are less than 10 and 0.8 dB, respectively. The extinction ratios are larger than 20 dB. The response times are 4.6 μs for rising edge and 1.9 μs for falling edge.