Abstract

Large scale photonic switching applications require that one have a switching device which uses one beam of light to switch either the amplitude or direction of another. Free-space imaging architectures are powerful by using large numbers of these devices in parallel. These issues place several requirements on the device parameters. First, the speed of the device must be compatible with telecommunications or switching applications and as such must exceed 100 MHz.[1] The optical energy to switch an individual device must be low in order to drive as many devices as possible with the available optical power. The devices must be cascadable and have a gain of at least two to allow the output of one device to drive two identical devices. The device should have a vertical structure (as opposed to waveguide) to allow for free-space imaging to large numbers of devices.

© 1991 Optical Society of America