Abstract

Motives for using photonic switching in telecommunications systems and networks include transparency to very broadband optical information streams, ease of integration with fiber based networks, exploitation of noise immune interconnects within switching fabrics, and exploitation of very high switching speeds. A number of potential applications are described which are being pursued as part of the RACE program. Routing switches may be used in fiber networks to provide management of very high capacity transmission or interfacing to a fiber access network. Crossconnect switches have a slow reconfiguration rate, path holding times can range from hours to years, and switching speed is not critical. Integrated optic space switching fabrics in lithium niobate may be relevant to these applications, and an experiment¹ has been designed which exploits 4×4 polarization independent switches operating in both the 1300- and 1550-nm regions.

© 1990 Optical Society of America