A polarization-independent dilated switch with a low crosstalk level has be
en realized. In this snitch, the crosstalk signal is attenuated by using co
ntrollable electrooptical attenuators which do not disturb the input signal
. A reverse bias of 20 V on the attenuators reduces the crosstalk value of
the dilated switch from -32 dB to -40 dB, The excess loss of the total swit
ch is about 9 dB.