Parallel 3-dimensional optical interconnections using liquid crystal devices for B-ISDN electronic switching systems

In this paper, we propose a system design for a parallel 3-dimensional optical interconnection network utilizing variable grating mode liquid crystal devices (VGM LCD's) which are optical transducers capable of performing intensity-to-spatial-frequency conversion. The proposed system performs real-time, reconfigurable, but blocking and nonbroadcasting 3-dimensional optical interconnections. The operating principles of the 3-D optical interconnection network are described, and some of the fundamental limitations are addressed. The system presented in this paper can be directly used as a configuration of switching elements for the 2-D optical perfect-shuffle dynamic interconnection network, as well as for a B-ISDN photonic switching system.