Pluggable silicon photonic MEMS switch package for data centre

Abstract

Consumers' thirst for data has led to the development of various silicon photonic switching devices that are highly scalable while maintaining their relatively compact form factor at the same time. This demands a paradigm shift in the way these devices are being packaged, as optical and electrical ports are involved. In this article, we proposed a pluggable silicon photonic MEMS switch package with passive optical coupling assembly. This approach shifts fibre coupling away from the package, keeping it “purely electrical.” The pluggable concept is separately demonstrated through spring contacted hybrid assembly and pairs of vertically stack surface gratings. Insertion losses are comparable to planar fibre-to-grating coupling, with relatively broadband transmission and assembly tolerance.