Protection for MEMS cross-bar switch

摘要

A protection system for a micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) cross-bar switch is described. Optical signals that are cross-connected by a NxN optical matrix switch are routed through alternative protection paths using protection switch elements. The protection switch elements are incorporated as part of the silicon wafer based fabricated structure that forms the NxN optical matrix. The protection switch elements enable the NxN optical matrix switch to recover from one or more failures in switch elements of the NxN optical matrix using alternative protection paths that have the same path length as the original optical path.