SELF-ROUTING NETWORK USING OPTICAL GATE ARRAY DRIVEN BY CONTROL VOLTAGES COINCIDENTAL WITH PACKET HEADER PULSES

摘要

In an optical self-routing network, N optical splitters are associated respectively with N inlet terminals for splitting an optical signal from the associated inlet terminal into M replicas of the optical signal. M optical combiners, associated respectively with M outlet terminals, combines N optical signals incident thereon into a combined optical signal and couples it to the associated outlet terminal. M sets of N optical gates are connected between the N optical splitters and the M optical combiners. Each optical gate allows passage of an optical signal incident thereon when it timely coincides with an electrical signal applied thereto. A controller supplies a gate control electrical signal to the optical gates of each set during M successive intervals. Contention between optical packets simultaneously incident on the optical gates of the same set is resolved by the controller.