Experimental optical switching system using space-division matrix switches gated by laser diodes

A space-division optical switching system using laser diode matrix switches is demonstrated and evaluated. Optical bidirectional connections are made through wavelength multiplexing. All call control signals and end-to-end information are transmitted by optical carriers. The system provides software-controlled point-to-multipoint connection in addition to conventional point-to-point connections. It is noted that the proposed optical signal monitoring method, using laser diode gates, is indispensable for constructing this kind of system. NTSC and HDTV (high-definition television) color pictures, coded into 32-Mb/s and 400-Mb/s optical signals, are exchanged using this system.<
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