IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRO OPTICAL SWITCH ARCHITECTURES

摘要

Optical switch networks and the design rules for creating them are disclosed. The networks comprise a plurality of input and output stages of optical switch elements. Each input optical switch stage is comprised of a plurality of 1 by 2 optical switch elements and each output stage is comprised of a plurality of 2 by 1 optical switch elements. Using these stages, optical switch networks are constructed where switch elements are interconnected by optical waveguides diffused in a substrate. Further, the connections between adjacent stages include optical waveguide crossovers (crossthroughs).