1296-port MEMS transparent optical crossconnect with 2.07 petabit/s switch capacity

A 1296-port MEMS transparent optical crossconnect with 5.1dB/spl plusmn/1.1dB insertion loss at 1550 nm is reported. Measured worst-case optical crosstalk in a fabric was n38 dB and nominal switching rise/fall times were 5 ms. A 2.07 petabit/s switch capacity was verified upon cross-connecting a forty-channel by 40 Gb/s DWDM data stream through a prototype fabric.