THERMO-OPTICAL CASCADED SWITCH COMPRISING GATES

摘要

The invention pertains to a thermo-optical switch comprising a cascade of 1xM optical switches, gates for selectively blocking and unblocking the output paths of the cascaded switch, and means for driving the 1xM switches and the gates, which means are arranged to switch a data signal from an input path of the cascaded switch to one of the output paths, wherein the said means are also arranged to switch an unwanted signal, by means of a number of the remaining 1xM switches, to at least one of the remaining output paths. In the cascaded switch according to the invention, the generated heat is distributed evenly over the area of the switch and the overall amount of heat generated is reduced.