An optical crossconnect (OXC) using drawbridge micromirrors

The free-space optical crossconnect (OXC) is one of the key components for all-optical networking. Different configurations of micromachined drawbridge mirrors are developed to enable optical switching action in free-space with the advantages of accurate angular alignment, large working distance, high switching speed, long-term reliability operation and small switch element size. A prototype 4 x 4 optical crossconnect OXC having the size of about 4 mm x 4 mm is demonstrated. The OXC is scalable to large port numbers. Factors such as optical crossconnect architectures, insertion losses and mirror motion types are investigated for the design of optical crossconnects having large port numbers. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.