Self-routing Optical Crossbar Switch

High speed, low cost optical self routing optical crossbar switches with gigabit data rates are key components in optical communication and routing systems. We propose to fabricate and study a monolithically integrated optical crossbar switch which will be inexpensive and high performance. This integrated switch utilizes thin film emitters and detectors integrated directly onto a host integrated circuit. The ultimate performance of this switch will not be limited by the reactance of the wirebond connections that plague conventional hybrid packaged schemes, since the proposed switch is monlithically integrated without wirebonds. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS: Low cost, high performance optical crossbar switches for optical communication networks.