Ge based on phase change material 2 Sb 2 Te 5 Mach-Zehnder interference nonvolatile multistage optical switch and preparation method thereof
Technical Field
The invention belongs to the technical field of nonvolatile optical switches, and particularly relates to a phase-change material Ge-based optical switch 2 Sb 2 Te 5 (GST) Mach-Zehnder interferometric nonvolatile multi-stage optical switch and method of making the same.
Background
With the popularity of 5G and the tremendous increase in cloud devices, large amounts of data need to be stored and processed online, and thus data storage and processing are required to be faster. However, modern computer systems are based on von neumann architecture, in which the processor and the memory are separated spatially and spatially, that is, the processor is only responsible for computation and the memory is only responsible for storage, however, the operation speed of the processor is continuously increased, the access speed of the memory is not greatly increased, which results in that a great amount of time is spent for waiting for the memory to transmit data once the processor operates, and finally, the whole operation speed of the computer is reduced, and a great amount of energy is wasted, which is a well-known von neumann bottleneck. Thus, there is a need to somehow fuse together the two basic tasks of computation and storage. The integrated memory chip is a recently popular solution, the core idea is to directly use the memory to perform data operation, and the nonvolatile optical switch is a core device therein. The non-volatility of the optical switch means that the switching state of the device does not suddenly disappear and remains for a long period of time without a constant external excitation source. The nonvolatile optical switch has high switching speed and low power consumption, and has important significance for realizing a reconfigurable photon device and accelerating a von Neumann bottleneck.
Many of the nonvolatile optical switches are based on silicon-based photoetching platforms, mach-Zehnder interference waveguides are etched on track platforms by utilizing an electron beam photoetching technology, GST is plated on the interference arm waveguides to realize the nonvolatile optical switches, but the etching process of the waveguides is complicated and high in cost, the silicon-based waveguides are greatly influenced by temperature, the stability of the optical switches is difficult to ensure, and the practical application of the nonvolatile optical switches is limited. Based on phase-change material Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 The Mach-Zehnder nonvolatile multi-stage optical switch of the optical fiber platform is realized, the optical fiber plays an important role in modern telecom infrastructure, the advantages of online data transmission and rapid data transmission are achieved, the Mach-Zehnder nonvolatile optical switch of the optical fiber platform not only can be realized to be reconfigurable, but also can be used for transmission interconnection, the potential is huge in future 'calculation, storage and transmission' integrated cloud calculation, and the Mach-Zehnder interference nonvolatile optical switch of the optical fiber platform also has the advantages of simple preparation and low cost.
Disclosure of Invention
To achieve the above requirements, the present invention provides a phase change material Ge-based material 2 Sb 2 Te 5 Mach-Zehnder interference nonvolatile multi-stage optical switch and its preparation method. The present invention aims to provide a nonvolatile optical switch to realize multi-stage optical switch modulation without an external excitation source.
The technical scheme of the invention is as follows:
ge based on phase change material 2 Sb 2 Te 5 The Mach-Zehnder interference nonvolatile multi-stage optical switch comprises a broadband light source, a single-mode fiber, a peanut-shaped optical fiber microstructure and a fiber core plated with Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 A 793nm continuous laser, a 532nm pulse laser, a spectrum analyzer; the broadband light source is plated with Ge through a single-mode fiber, a first peanut-shaped optical fiber microstructure and a fiber core 2 Sb 2 Te 5 The micro-hole of the second peanut-shaped optical fiber microstructure and the spectrum analyzer are sequentially connected.
Ge based on phase change material 2 Sb 2 Te 5 The preparation method of the Mach-Zehnder interference nonvolatile multistage optical switch comprises the following steps:
step one: removing the coating layer from the single-mode fiber, wiping the single-mode fiber with alcohol, cutting and flattening the end face, then carrying out arc melting on the end face of the fiber for about 30 seconds, forming a microsphere with the diameter of about 170 mu m under the action of surface tension after melting, and forming a second microsphere in the same way;
step two: aligning and tightly adhering the centers of the two fused microspheres to perform arc welding, wherein the discharge time is about 20 seconds, the two fused microspheres form a peanut-shaped optical fiber microstructure, and a second peanut-shaped optical fiber microstructure is formed in the same manner;
step three: arc welding the end surfaces of two peanut-shaped optical fiber microstructures, wherein the distance between the two peanut-shaped optical fiber microstructures is about 3.5cm;
step four: punching a 3.5cm single mode fiber by using laser, wherein the depth of the hole reaches about 58 mu m of the fiber core position, and the length of the hole is about 300 mu m;
step five: ge is coated by utilizing the magnetron sputtering coating technology 2 Sb 2 Te 5 Ge plating at position where target is opposite to punching 2 Sb 2 Te 5 Thin film, ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 The film thickness is about 45nm, and the fiber core is plated with Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 Is a micro-pore of (a).
793nm continuous laser pair using different laser powersGe plated at punching site 2 Sb 2 Te 5 The film is irradiated to realize Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 Multi-level optical switch modulation from amorphous to crystalline; the power range of the 793nm continuous laser with different laser powers is 6-10mW.
Plating Ge at hole-punching position by 532nm pulse laser 2 Sb 2 Te 5 The film is irradiated to realize Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 Optical switching modulation from crystalline to amorphous; the laser power of the 532nm pulse laser is 45mW.
The invention provides a Ge based on phase-change material 2 Sb 2 Te 5 The Mach-Zehnder interference nonvolatile multistage optical switch and the preparation method thereof comprise the following steps: firing two peanut-shaped microstructures, laser drilling to a fiber core, plating GST films at the drilling positions, and realizing multistage modulation of the optical switch based on Mach-Zehnder interference principle.
The optical switch system comprises two peanut-shaped microstructures, and the peanut-shaped microstructures can realize beam splitting from a fiber core module to a cladding layer and beam combining from the cladding layer module to the fiber core in the optical fiber, so that peanut-shaped Mach-Zehnder interference is realized. The interference arm is perforated to the fiber core, and the GST film is plated at the perforation position, so that the crystallization degree of GST can be regulated to enable the intensity of interference peaks to generate multistage change, the multistage optical switch is realized, the state of GST is not changed when no constant external excitation source exists, and the aim of the nonvolatile multistage optical switch is fulfilled.
The working principle of the invention is as follows: the light of the broadband light source is coupled into the peanut-shaped Mach-Zehnder interference structure, the fiber core light in the optical fiber is divided into two bundles in the first peanut-shaped microstructure, one bundle enters the cladding layer to be a cladding mode, the other bundle is still remained in the fiber core to be the fiber core mode, after the two bundles of light propagate for a certain distance, the light in the fiber core and the light in the cladding layer are combined into one bundle at the second peanut-shaped microstructure, and the fiber core mode and the cladding mode which meet the interference condition can generate interference phenomenon. The phase difference between the core and cladding modes in an optical fiber can be expressed as:
in the formula (1)And->The effective refractive index of the core and cladding modes, respectively, L is the interference arm length, Δn eff Is the difference in effective refractive index between the core and cladding modes, and λ is the interference peak wavelength.
The total transmitted light intensity of the optical switch can be expressed as:
i in formula (2) core And I cladding Is the light intensity of the core and cladding modes in the fiber.
When GST is plated on the interference arm through punching, the extinction coefficient of GST is continuously increased along with the increase of the crystallization degree of GST, the light intensity of the fiber core mould and the cladding mould is continuously attenuated, and finally the total transmission light intensity is continuously attenuated. Thus, multi-level light intensity modulation can be achieved by varying degrees of attenuation of the intensity of the interference peaks.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects:
1. the non-volatile optical switch with the all-fiber structure can realize multi-level light intensity modulation without an external constant excitation source.
2. The novel optical fiber welding method has the advantages that the manufacturing of the nonvolatile optical switch is performed by utilizing the optical fiber ball burning welding, magnetron sputtering coating and optical fiber punching technology, a peanut-shaped Mach-Zehnder interference structure with GST plated by punching in the middle of an interference arm is formed, the manufacturing is simple, the cost is low, and the application prospect in the fields of reconfigurable photonic devices and nonvolatile optical switches is wide.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an overall system of a nonvolatile optical switch;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a non-volatile optical switch fabrication process;
FIGS. 3a-b are graphs of multiple modulation spectra and power versus modulation order for a non-volatile switch
FIG. 4 is a ladder diagram of non-volatile optical switch repeatability and stability;
fig. 5 is a graph of the nonvolatile light intensity fluctuation test of the optical switch.
Detailed Description
The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples:
referring to fig. 1, a mach-zehnder interference nonvolatile multi-level optical switch based on a phase change material GST comprises a broadband light source 1, a single-mode optical fiber 2, a double-ball welded peanut-shaped optical fiber microstructure 3, micropores 4 with GST plated fiber cores, a 793nm continuous laser 5, a 532nm pulse laser 6 and a spectrum analyzer 7;
the preparation method of the nonvolatile multistage optical switch structure comprises firing of the end face microspheres of the optical fibers, welding of the optical fiber microspheres, laser drilling to fiber cores, and GST film plating of the fiber cores; the single-mode fiber 2 is cleaned by alcohol, the end face is cut flat, then the end face of the fiber is fused by an electric arc, and the electric arc fusion time is about 30 seconds; after arc melting of the end face of the single-mode fiber 2, the surface tension makes the end face form a microsphere 8 with a diameter of about 170 μm, and a second microsphere is formed in the same way; the centers of the two fused microspheres are aligned and clung to each other for arc welding, and the arc welding time is about 20 seconds; the two microspheres after arc welding form a microstructure 3 similar to a peanut type, and a second peanut type microstructure is formed in the same way; arc welding the end surfaces of the two peanut-shaped microstructures, wherein the distance between the two peanut-shaped microstructures is about 3.5cm; punching 9 on a 3.5cm single mode fiber by using laser, wherein the depth of the hole reaches about 58 mu m of the fiber core position, and the length of the hole is about 300 mu m; the GST target is plated with GST film 4 at the position opposite to the perforation by utilizing the magnetron sputtering coating technology, and the film thickness of GST is about 45nm; the GST film plated at the punching position is irradiated by using 793nm continuous lasers 5 with different laser powers, so that the multistage optical switch modulation of GST from amorphous state to crystalline state is realized; the power range of the 793nm continuous laser with different laser powers is 6-10mW; the GST film plated at the punching position is irradiated by using a 532nm pulse laser 6, so that the optical switch modulation of GST from crystalline state to amorphous state is realized;
the laser power of the 532nm pulse laser is 45mW;
the invention relates to a nonvolatile optical switch based on Mach-Zehnder interference principle, which is prepared by utilizing the technologies of optical fiber ball burning welding, laser drilling and magnetron sputtering coating. The optical switch structure comprises two peanut-shaped micro structures, and the structure can realize beam splitting from a fiber core module to a cladding layer and beam combining from the cladding layer module to the fiber core in the optical fiber, so that peanut-shaped Mach-Zehnder interference is realized. The interference arm is perforated to the fiber core, and the perforation part is plated with a GST film, so that the intensity of the interference peak can be changed in multiple stages by adjusting the crystallization degree of GST due to the large difference between the crystalline state and the amorphous state of GST, and the multistage optical switch is realized.
Referring to fig. 2, a mach-zehnder interference non-volatile multi-level optical switch based on a phase change material GST and a preparation method thereof include the following steps:
step one: the single-mode fiber 2 is cleaned by alcohol, the end face is cut and flattened, then the end face of the fiber is subjected to arc melting for about 30 seconds, after melting, a microsphere 8 with the diameter of about 170 mu m is formed under the action of surface tension, and a second microsphere is formed in the same way.
Step two: the two fused microspheres are aligned and tightly attached to each other in the center for arc welding, the discharge time is about 20 seconds, the two fused microspheres form a microstructure 3 similar to a peanut type, and a second peanut type microstructure is formed in the same way.
Step three: the end faces of the two "peanut-shaped" microstructures were arc welded, the distance of the two "peanut-shaped" microstructures being about 3.5cm.
Step four: the 3.5cm single mode fiber was punched 9 with a laser to a depth of about 58 μm at the core position and a length of about 300 μm.
Step five: and (3) plating the GST film 4 on the position, opposite to the perforation, of the GST target by utilizing a magnetron sputtering coating technology, wherein the film thickness of the GST film is about 45nm.
Referring to fig. 3, a mach-zehnder interferometer non-volatile multi-level optical switch based on phase change material GST is subjected to multi-level modulation testing and analysis.
The nonvolatile optical switch is placed in the air for performance test, and other environmental factors are kept unchanged in the experimental process in order to prevent crosstalk of other environmental factors. The nonvolatile optical switch is respectively connected with the broadband light source and the spectrum analyzer. And (3) carrying out multistage optical switch modulation from GST amorphous state to crystalline state by using GST films plated at the perforating positions of 793nm continuous laser irradiation with different laser powers, wherein the power of the 793nm continuous laser starts to be modulated from 6mW, the time for each irradiation of GST is about 2 seconds, data are recorded after the spectrum is stable, then the GST films plated at the perforating positions are irradiated by using 532nm pulse laser with the laser power of about 45mW, so that the GST is recovered from the crystalline state to the amorphous state, then the 793nm laser power of about 1mW is increased, and the steps are repeated until the 793nm laser power is increased to the point that the interference spectrum cannot be changed obviously from the last time. The spectral analysis obtained showed that: GST is irradiated by 793nm laser, so that the light intensity of an interference spectrum is attenuated from 0 level to 5 level, 6-level switch modulation is realized, and the 793nm laser power and the modulation level are in linear relation.
With reference to fig. 4, the mach-zehnder interferometric nonvolatile multi-level optical switch based on the phase change material GST performs repeatability and stability testing and analysis.
After the optical switch is placed in the air and the GST is irradiated by 793nm continuous laser to realize the modulation of the 6-level optical switch from the amorphous state to the crystalline state, the GST is reset from the crystalline state to the amorphous state by 532nm pulse laser, and the two processes are regarded as the end of one modulation period. The repeated switching of 793nm continuous laser and 532nm pulse laser is used for 4-period optical switch repeatability and stability test, and the analysis of the obtained repeatability ladder diagram shows that the light intensity of the same ladder is stable in a certain range, and the stages can be well distinguished.
Referring to fig. 5, a non-volatile test and analysis is performed on a mach-zehnder interferometric non-volatile multi-level optical switch based on phase change material GST.
The nonvolatile optical switch is placed in the air, the light intensity fluctuation test of the modulation level number of the optical switch is carried out within 30 days, and the test is carried out every 10 days, so that the analysis of the obtained nonvolatile light intensity fluctuation test chart shows that the light intensity fluctuation of each level of the optical switch within 30 days is about 0.2dB, the light intensity fluctuation of the degree cannot influence the resolution of the modulation level number of the optical switch, and the optical switch has good nonvolatile property.
In summary, the above embodiments describe the specific manufacturing method of the present invention in further detail. The Mach-Zehnder interference nonvolatile multistage optical switch based on the phase change material GST provided by the invention can realize multistage light intensity modulation without an external constant excitation source, and has the advantages of simplicity in manufacturing and low cost. The invention has wide application prospect in the field of reconfigurable photonic devices and nonvolatile optical switches.
The invention provides a Ge based on phase-change material 2 Sb 2 Te 5 A Mach-Zehnder interference non-volatile multi-stage optical switch (GST) and a preparation method thereof belong to the technical field of non-volatile optical switches. A system of non-volatile optical switches comprising: broadband light source, single mode fiber, two double ball welded peanut-shaped optical fiber microstructures, a micropore with GST plated fiber core, 532nm pulse laser, 793nm continuous laser and spectrum analyzer. Because the double-ball welded peanut-shaped optical fiber microstructure can generate Mach-Zehnder interference, GST with different crystallization degrees has larger extinction coefficients, can generate multistage change of the intensity of interference peaks, can be used as a multistage optical switch, and can not change the state of GST when no constant external excitation source exists, thereby achieving the purpose of a nonvolatile optical switch. The invention provides a nonvolatile optical switch with an all-fiber structure, which has the advantages of simple manufacture, no need of an external constant excitation source and capability of realizing multistage modulation.