Thermal field analysis of polymer/silica hybrid waveguide thermo-optic switch

The thermal field and the temperature change of the optical waveguide core of thermo-optic (TO) switch generated by heating the Al electrode are simulated using the finite-element method (FEM), and the steady-state temperature distribution and time response of TO switch are presented. Our research covers several conditions, including different electrode heater widths, upper cladding layer thicknesses, under cladding layer materials and different structures. The results turn out that the performance of the TO switch can be improved using the polymer/silica hybrid and the air trench waveguide structures. The TO switch was fabricated and the surface thermal field distribution was measured. A good agreement between the experimental results and theory analysis has been observed.