Fiber-Optic Crossbar Switch With Broadcast Capability

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Abstract
An all-optical fiber-optic crossbar switch capable of interconnecting N input fibers to M output fibers with an arbitrary interconnect pattern has been constructed. The switch can use any 1-D or 2-D spatial light modulator capable of realizing N X M pixels and can be configured for permutations, full or partial broadcast, or "wired-oring" of several inputs to a given output. Values of N and M achievable depend on the light efficiency of the switch components and the data rate. A 4X4 switch has been built; in a computer switching environment, the approach is capable of realizing a 16 X16 switch at 1 Gb/s and a 32 X32 switch at >100 Mb/s. The development of the switch has included construction of both a PLZT switch array and a magneto-optic switch array. We report on the investigations of both technologies. Reconfiguration times in the range of a few microseconds to a few tens of microseconds are of interest. A reconfiguration time shorter than 20 ps was actually achieved.

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