Optoelectronic switch having cascaded optical nodes
First Claim
1. An optical switch assembly comprising:
- a plurality of optoelectronic nodes, wherein each node has a first optical input, a second optical input, and an optical output, wherein each node can be electrically activated or deactivated via an electrical control input, wherein radiation provided to the second optical input is emitted from the optical output as output radiation, wherein the output radiation is modulated according to modulation of radiation provided to the first optical input if the node is electrically activated, and wherein the output radiation is not modulated according to modulation of radiation provided to the first optical input if the node is not electrically activated;
wherein the switch includes a plurality of linear chains of the optoelectronic nodes, wherein each of the chains includes two or more nodes optically connected in series such that each pair of adjacent nodes is connected from optical output to second optical input; and
wherein the first optical inputs of each of the nodes are isolated from each other.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical switch assembly is provided having a plurality of optoelectronic switching nodes. Each node is a three terminal optical device having a first optical input, a second optical input and an optical output. Each node can be electrically activated or deactivated via an electrical control input. Each node has a transmittance between its second optical input and its optical output. This transmittance depends on the signal at the first optical input if the node is activated, and is independent of the first optical input if the node is deactivated. Thus modulation at the first optical input can be selectively imposed on the optical output. The switch includes at least two chains of nodes, each chain having two or more nodes connected in series such that each pair of adjacent nodes is connected from optical output to second optical input. Switches according to the invention can be configured as optical crossbar switches or optical routers.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An optical switch assembly comprising:
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a plurality of optoelectronic nodes, wherein each node has a first optical input, a second optical input, and an optical output, wherein each node can be electrically activated or deactivated via an electrical control input, wherein radiation provided to the second optical input is emitted from the optical output as output radiation, wherein the output radiation is modulated according to modulation of radiation provided to the first optical input if the node is electrically activated, and wherein the output radiation is not modulated according to modulation of radiation provided to the first optical input if the node is not electrically activated; wherein the switch includes a plurality of linear chains of the optoelectronic nodes, wherein each of the chains includes two or more nodes optically connected in series such that each pair of adjacent nodes is connected from optical output to second optical input; and wherein the first optical inputs of each of the nodes are isolated from each other. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for optical switching comprising:
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providing a plurality of optoelectronic nodes, wherein each node has a first optical input, a second optical input, and an optical output, wherein radiation provided to the second optical input is emitted from the optical output as output radiation and wherein the first optical inputs of each of the nodes are isolated from each other; selectively activating and deactivating each node with a corresponding electrical control input, wherein the output radiation is modulated according to modulation of radiation provided to the first optical input if the node is electrically activated, and wherein the output radiation is not modulated according to modulation of radiation provided to the first optical input if the node is not electrically activated; and arranging the nodes in a plurality of linear chains of the nodes, wherein each of the chains includes two or more nodes optically connected in series such that each pair of adjacent nodes is connected from optical output to second optical input.
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Specification