Monitoring output power levels of a carrier-effect based switching cell allows phase errors resulting from driving a PIN or PN junction of the switching cell to be dynamically compensated for. The compensation may also allow for compensating of phase errors resulting from the phase imbalance of input couplers as well as phase errors from the waveguide due to fabrication variations. By dynamically compensating for phase errors caused by the driving of the PIN or PN junction, the extinction ratio of the carrier-effect based switching cell can be increased.