16x 16 optical-fiber crossbar switch operating at 0.85 mu m

An optical-fiber crossbar switch has been constructed using fully integrated GaAs optoelectronic receivers, custom monolithic GaAs laser drivers, and an electrical 32x32 silicon crossbar switch. 470 Mb/s operation has been achieved with a bit error rate of less than 10(-12). The approach uses a monolithic GaAs optoelectronic integrated receiver to convert optical signals into electrical signals that are fed into an Si 32x32 electronic crossbar switch. The switch outputs are used to drive laser transmitters consisting of a custom monolithic GaAs IC laser driver and a 0.85 mum GaAs/AlGaAs laser. The system could be reconfigured in 1 mum, limited by the control logic, with the switch chip capable of reconfiguration in 35 ns. No errors are induced by reconfiguration