An 8 mm length nonblocking 4*4 optical switch array

A novel single-mode-single-slip-structure S/sup 3/ optical switch using carrier-induced refractive index change is proposed as a unit cell for a small polarization-independent nonblocking N*N optical switch array. Sixteen S/sup 3/ optical switches have been integrated into a nonblocking 4*4 optical switch array on an InP substrate. The 8-mm-length InGaAsP/InP 4*4 optical array has shown satisfactory switching characteristics and is suitable for larger scale integration of optical switch arrays and also for integration with other active optical devices such as laser diodes.>