A Thermally Reconfigurable Photonic Switch Utilizing Drop Cast Vanadium Oxide Nanoparticles on Silicon Waveguides

Photonic switches play a vital role in optical communications and computer networks for establishing and releasing connections of optical signals. With the growing demand for ultra-compact switches in high-speed optical computing and communications, thermally reconfigurable optical switches have gained significant attention. These switches offer simplicity, ease of fabrication, and leverage a wide range of thermo-optic materials. Silicon remains an ideal platform for making photonic devices including the switches due to its compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology and cost-effectiveness. The article presents a drop cast sub-stoichiometric vanadium oxide (VO_2−x) nanoparticles combined with a silicon ridge waveguide to make a compact thermally reconfigurable optical switch with low transition temperature and accelerated phase transition. Furthermore, the design achieves high modulation depth in addition to its scalability and simplicity. This study demonstrates the potential of solution-based VO_2−x nanoparticles in combination with silicon waveguides for efficient optical switch design for various applications.