Fast Polarization-Insensitive Optical Switch Based on Hybrid Silicon and Lithium Niobate Platform

We propose and demonstrate a polarization-insensitive and high-speed optical switch unit based on a silicon and lithium niobate hybrid integration platform. The presented device exhibits a sub nano-second switching time, low drive voltages of less than 10 V, and low power dissipation due to electrostatic operation. The measured polarization dependence loss was lower than 0.8 dB. The demonstrated optical switch could provide a building block for polarization-insensitive and high-speed optical matrix switches.