These emerging compact photonics–electronics convergent modules have the potential to be used in the fabrication of energy-efficient cost-effective systems for various applications, such as communications, information processing, and sensing. It starts with a review of three types of fundamental switch engines, i., Mach-Zehnder interferometer, micro-ring resonator and micro-electro-mechanical-system actuated waveguide coupler. The working mechanisms are introduced and the key specifications such as insertion loss, crosstalk, switching. This review paper focuses on the state of the art and our perspectives on silicon photonic switching technologies. The switching mechanism is based on vertically movable adiabatic coupler waveguides controlled by micro-electromechanical-system actuators, enabling sub-microsecond. Silicon-based photonics technology, which is based on the same paradigm of silicon (Si) electronics technology, promises to provide us with a compact photonic integration platform with high integration density, mass manufacturing, and excellent cost performance. 19, OCTOBER 1, 2020 A Silicon Photonic Switching Platform for Flexible Converged Centralized-Radio Access Networking Colm Browning, Qixiang Cheng.
