We propose a design for a strict-sense nonblocking N X N spatial optical cr
oss connect that employs planar lightwave beam steerers. The beam steerers
allow for a modular design without requiring two-dimensional chip-to-chip w
aveguide interconnections. The modular design and the fact that the number
of electrical leads scales as N log N in turn allows the possibility of con
structing large, robust, solid-state cross connects. We also propose a casc
aded beam-steerer design that substantially relaxes the phase shifter stren
gth requirement.