Abstract
We demonstrate 4 × 4 and 8 × 8 switch fabrics in multistage topologies based on 2 × 2
Mach–Zehnder interferometer switching elements. These fabrics are integrated onto a single chip with digital
CMOS logic, device drivers, thermo-optic phase tuners, and electro-optic phase modulators using IBM's 90 nm
silicon integrated nanophotonics technology. We show that the various switch-and-driver systems are capable of
delivering nanosecond-scale reconfiguration times, low crosstalk, compact footprints, low power dissipations, and
broad spectral bandwidths. Moreover, we validate the dynamic reconfigurability of the switch fabric changing the state
of the fabric using time slots with sub-100-ns durations. We further verify the integrity of high-speed data transfers
under such dynamic operation. This chip-scale switching system technology may provide a compelling solution to replace
some routing functionality currently implemented as bandwidth- and power-limited electronic switch chips in
high-performance computing systems.
© 2013 IEEE
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