Total Internal Reflection Optical Switch in SOI with Defect Engineered Barrier Region

Total internal reflection optical switches offer a switching operation which can be wavelength insensitive, thermally stable and polarisation independent. The implementation of such a switch based upon carrier injection in silicon is difficult due to the long diffusion lengths of injected free carriers. In this paper experimental results are presented which show that a reflective type switching operation is obtainable if a barrier formed of defective silicon is used to reduce free carrier diffusion.