Wavelength-division-multiplexing optical switch using acoustooptic deflector

A new wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) optical switch using an acoustooptic deflector (AOD) is presented. This switch requires minimal hardware and is highly applicable in high-speed signal switching. Theoretical calculations based on the Gaussian beam approximation show that up to a 20 × 20 switch is possible using present technology. As a preliminary study, a 3 × 3 WDM switch is constructed. Crosstalk of this switch is found to be less than -20 dB, and a 500 Mbit/s return to zero (RZ) signal is successfully switched with a 4-μs switch access time. A large capacity switching network using this WDM optical switch is proposed.