Optical switching in hybrid VO/Si waveguides thermally triggered by lateral microheaters.

The performance of optical devices relying in vanadium dioxide (VO) technology compatible with the silicon platform depends on the polarization of light and VO properties. In this work, optical switching in hybrid VO/Si waveguides thermally triggered by lateral microheaters is achieved with insertion losses below 1 dB and extinction ratios above 20 dB in a broad bandwidth larger than 30 nm. The optical switching response has been optimized for TE and TM polarizations by using a homogeneous and a granular VO layer, respectively, with a small impact on the electrical power consumption. The stability and reversibility between switching states showing the possibility of bistable performance is also demonstrated.