INTEGRATED ACOUSTOOPTIC SPACE SWITCH MODULES WITH APPLICATIONS TO MULTIPORT OPTICAL SWITCHING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Integrated acousto-optic space switch (AOSS) modules, up to 8 x 8 in s ize, have been realized using multiple Bragg diffractions on Y-cut LiN bO3 substrates. The integrated AOSS modules consist of a new hybrid be am expanding/collimating lens, a large-aperture focusing lens, and a p air of multielement tilted surface acoustic wave (SAW) transducer arra ys in a titanium-indiffused channel-planar-channel composite waveguide . The distinctive traits of the integrated AOSS modules as well as per formance parameters such as crosstalk, insertion loss, RF drive power requirement, reconfiguration time and size limitations, are discussed. The experimental results of 4 x 4 and 8 x 8 modules are reported. The integrated AOSS modules can also be used in single-wavelength as well as wavelength-division-multiplexed multiwavelength networks involving both star and tree topologies.