Multiport photonic routing with a single cavity-based electro-optic phase shifter per port

Abstract

Programmable photonic meshes can perform general linear transformations, but universal transformations on $N$ modes require $O(N^2)$ programmable phase shifters, which cannot simultaneously achieve low drive voltage, gigahertz speed, zero static power, lossless modulation, and a compact footprint. Signal routing does not require universal transformations, which allows considerable circuit simplifications. We present a compact reflective circuit architecture that connects all input-output pairs across $N$ modes in $N$ steps using only $O(N)$ programmable phase shifters. The circuit comprises a single passive $N\times N$ interferometer and a single column of programmable reflective phase shifters. We demonstrate the architecture by implementing a $3\times 3$ router in x-cut thin-film lithium niobate with a passive multimode interferometer and phase shifters based on single-sided photonic-crystal nanobeam cavities. Our programmable devices exhibit a $1.92$ GHz/V resonance tuning efficiency via the Pockels effect, a footprint of $100\mu {\mathrm{m}}^2$, sub-5-V drive voltage, and a 6.2 GHz electro-optic bandwidth. Through voltage-space characterization and physical modeling, we identify routing states with extinction ratios exceeding 11 dB at each output and demonstrate sequential routing at an equipment-limited speed of 10 MHz. Our results establish cavity-enhanced Pockels switching as a routing layer for classical and quantum computing interconnects across visible and near-infrared wavelengths.

arXiv comment56 pages, including 41 pages of Supplementary Information; 32 figures (4 main-text and 28 supplementary)