An all-optical implementation of a 3-D crossover switching network

Abstract

One of the more promising interconnection schemes proposed for use in photonic switching networks is the crossover interconnection network; however, reported implementations of the crossover have been limited in size and complexity. A large-scale cascadable implementation of the optical crossover network that capitalizes on planar symmetric self electrooptic effect device (S-SEED) arrays is discussed. A fully functional experimental prototype with 32 inputs and 32 outputs that was operated at a maximum rate of 55.7 kb/s is also discussed. It is also shown that S-SEED arrays can be operated as simple two-input two-output nodes (called 2-modules) within a controllable network. >