High density polarization independent ultrafast electro-optical switch matrix for sensor and communication networks

"This proposal describes an all-optical 32x32 low-loss cross-connect switch based on periodically-poled gratings in an electro-optic waveguide substrate. The gratings are arranged between parallel waveguide channels and serve to produce coupling of thedesired wavelength from a given input channel to the desired output channel. Because these gratings are produced electro-optically, they may be switched on and off in less than a nanosecond. This fast operation allows the non-blocking cross-connect networkswitch to be reconfigured very rapidly in dense wavelength division demultiplexed routing systems and because of its speed,is also compatible with photonic packet switching concepts. The optical switch is polarization insensitive and is also designed tohave negligible polarization dependent loss. The device has high optical power handling capability and is transparent to bit rate and coding format. A basic 2x2 cross-connect switch supporting two wavelengths will be demonstrated in the Phase I program.The Phase I will also develop a preliminary design for 32x32 optical switching system for use in high speed optical networks crucial to command and control operations. The multi-functional switch matrix may be used in sea-, ground-, air-, and space-basedplatforms and systems used in electronic surveillance, phased-array radar, signal processing and signal transmission. The all-optical switch device will offer low-cost wavelength demultipl