Polymer/glass hybrid DC-MZI thermal optical switch for 3D-integrated chips.

A directional coupler (DC) Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) thermal optical switch based on a polymer and glass waveguide hybrid for three-dimensional (3D)-integrated chips is demonstrated. The proposed thermal optical switch consists of a polymer waveguide and glass waveguide prepared using an ion-exchange technique. The two waveguide cores can achieve coupling in the vertical direction, improving the integration level on 3D-integrated chips, realizing the complementary advantages of polymer and glass materials.