Kotura Demos Ultrafast Silicon Photonics Switch

Kotura demonstrated an ultrafast, submilliwatt, broadband 2 x 2 optical switch. The device boasts switching speeds of 6 ns and power consumption of only 0.6 milliwatts. The company said large numbers of 2 x 2 switch modules could be integrated to create complex switch fabrics.


"We are putting all the building blocks in place for Optical Interconnects," reported Mehdi Asghari, CTO at Kotura. "We previously demonstrated high-speed, low-power modulators, high-speed detectors with record performance, and low-loss wavelength division multiplexers and de-multiplexers. With our new 2 x 2 switch we will be able to support more complex silicon photonic circuits and enable more flexible interconnecting architectures. The switching power of 0.6mW achieved by this free carrier current injection device represents, to our knowledge, a world record and the speed of 6ns is amongst the fastest ever reported."


Kotura's low-power high-speed switch was developed as part of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's Ultra-performance Nano-photonic Intrachip Communications (UNIC) program in conjunction with Oracle Corporation, under the leadership of Dr. Jagdeep Shah, DARPA Program Manager.
http://www.kotura.com