Abstract

Future communication services will require intelligent and high-speed control circuits as well as broadband information switching equipment. For the switching equipment, optical switches, such as space-, time-, and frequency division switches, are attractive because of their inherently wide bandwidth and immunity to induction. For the control circuits, required functions fall into two categories, high-speed simple functions and low-speed intelligent functions. Optical new technologies will be demanded for the former functions, though electronics will play an important role for the latter as it does today.

© 1991 Optical Society of America