FERROELECTRIC LIQUID CRYSTALS FOR OPTICAL CROSSBAR SWITCHES

THIS EFFORT INVESTIGATES THE USE OF THE HIGH-SPEED ELECTRO-OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF FERROELECTRIC LIQUID CRYSTALS (FLC) TO MAKE OPTICAL CROSSBAR SWITCHES. THESE SWITCHES WOULD PERMIT LARGE NUMBERS (HUNDREDS TO THOUSANDS) OF INPUT LIGHT BEAMS MODULATED AT GHZ RATES TO BE CONNECTED TO AN EQUALLY LARGE NUMBER OF OUTPUTS. FLC SWITCHES ALSO REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT LOST BETWEEN INPUT AND OUTPUT TO A SMALLFRACTION (1-2 DB) AS COMPARED TO THE USUAL VECTOR-MATRIX MULTIPLIER ARCHITECTURES. THE FAST SWITCHING OF FLCS ALLOWSTHE ENTIRE CONNECTION PATTERN OF THE SWITCH TO BE RECONFIGURED IN MICROSECOND TO SUBMICROSECOND TIMES WITH PICOJOULE LEVEL ENERGY DISSIPATION. IN THIS INVESTIGATION, AN APPROPRIATE SWITCH GEOMETRY IS BEING SELECTED AND AN INDIVIDUAL "PROOF-OF-CONCEPT" SWITCH WILL BE DESIGNED, FABRICATED, AND TESTED. AT A LATER EFFORT, COMPLETE MULTI-LINE CROSSBAR SWITCHES WILL BE DESIGNED AND FABRICATED. MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS EXIST FOR THIS TECHNOLOGY IN AREAS SUCH AS OPTICAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS, SECURE BATTLE MANAGEMENT NETWORKS, SENSOR NETWORKS,AND INTEGRATED OPTIC COMPUTING SYSTEMS.