Architecture and technology for a flexible ATM switch element and network

The principle of an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch characterized by a high degree of flexibility is described. The flexibility is given with respect to cell length and traffic. In the case of a very long or an infinite length of cells, quasi-permanent connections with constant capacity can be switched. The principle is based on splitting of cells into a sequence of fractions of cells which are transferred and switched in a switching network (SN) composed of switch elements (SE) with 16 inputs and 16 outputs. In addition to the flexibility of the SEs and the SN, the SEs require a relatively low complexity compared with SEs based on switching of complete cells. The proposed switching concept fulfils the traffic performance requirements and offers low delay jitter. The monolithic integration of such an ATM switch is feasible with available advanced semiconductor technologies, e.g., a 1.0-μm or 0.8-μm CMOS technology. This switch principle has been considered in RACE project R1022. The switch architecture, its performance, and the technology aspects from the semiconductor and the equipment points of view are described