OPTICAL SWITCHING

Mentor:-
Dr. D.K.Kothari
Presenters:-
DHRUVIT (09BEC008)
PRASHANT (09BEC005)
FLOW OF TALK

 Introduction
 Different switching technology & their network uses
 Optical Parameters
 Optical switching in different domains
 Different optical switches
 Comparison of optical switches
THE NEED FOR OPTICAL SWITCHING
 High bit rate transmission must be matched by switching capacity
 Optical or Photonic switching can provide such capacity

Example: 100,000 subscriber digital exchange

CURRENT PROJECTED

64 kbits/sec for 155 Mbits/sec for

each subscriber each subscriber
(1 voice channel) (Video + data etc..)

Estimated aggregate Estimated aggregate

switching capacity is switching capacity is
10 Gbits/sec 15.5 Tbits/sec
WHAT IS OPTICAL SWITCHING?
Switching is the process by which the destination of a individual
optical information signal is controlled

Example
B
A C A-C

D
A-D
OPTICAL SWITCHING OVERVIEW
Switching is the process by which the destination of a individual optical
information signal is controlled

Types of Optical
Switching

Wavelength Hybrid of Space,

Space Division Time Division
Division Wavelength and
Switching Switching Time
Switching

Switch control may be:

• Purely electronic (present situation)
• Hybrid of optical and electronic (in development)
• Purely optical (awaits development of optical logic, memory etc.)
Space Division Optical
Switching
SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING

Simplest form of optical switching, A

typically a matrix
Well developed by comparison to WDS
B
and TDS

Optical Input
Optical
Switch
Variety of switch elements developed
C
Can form the core of an OXC
Features include X Y Z
• Transparent to bit rate Optical Output

• Switching speeds less than 1 ns

• Very high bandwidth SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING
3 x 3 matrix
• Low insertion loss or even gain
Wavelength Division
Optical Switching
WAVELENGTH DIVISION SWITCHING
Very attractive form of optical switching for DWDM networks
Complex signal processing involved:
 Fibre splitters and combiners
 Optical amplifiers
 Tunable optical filters
 Space division switches
Current sizes:
 European Multi-wavelength Transport network is a good example
 Three input/output fibres and four wavelengths switched (12 x 12)
Problems exist with:
 Limited capacity
 Loss
 Noise and Crosstalk
WAVELENGTH DIVISION SWITCHING
Wavelength Wavelength
Wavelength Division
Division
Interchanger Demultiplexer
Multiplexer
l1 l1
A l1 to l1 X
l2 l2 to l2 l2
B Y
l3 l3 to l3 l3
C Z

Result: A routed to X B routed to Y C routed to Z

Wavelength Wavelength
Wavelength Division
Division
Interchanger Demultiplexer
Multiplexer
l1 l1
A l1 to l2 X
l2 l2 to l1 l2
B Y
l3 l3 to l3 l3
C Z

Result: A routed to Y B routed to X C routed to Z

Time Division Optical
Switching
TIME DIVISION SWITCHING
 Used in an Optical Time Division Multiplex (OTDM) environment
 Basic element is an optical time slot interchanger
 TSI can rearrange physical channel locations within OTDM frame, providing
simple routing.

Optical Optical
Time Division Time Division
Multiplexer Optical Time Slot Demultiplexer
A Interchanger X
Input data Data
Fibre Y
sources B Fibre
Destination
C Z

time time
A B C A C B
Timeslots into TSI Timeslots out of
TSI
Routing: A to X B to Z C to Y
TIME DIVISION SWITCHING ISSUES
 Control system works at speeds comparable to frame rate
 Electronic control is the only option at present

 Totally Optical TDS must await developments in optical logic, memory etc.

 Use of Optical TDS could emerge if OTDM becomes widely

acceptable.
 Historically Telecoms operators have favoured electronic TDM solutions.

 OTDM and Optical TDS are more bandwidth efficient:

 Bandwidth of 40 Gbits/sec WDM is >6 nm (16 Chs, 0.4 nm spacing)

 Bandwidth of equivalent OTDM signal is only 1 nm

 But dispersion is a problem for high bit rate OTDM

ELECTRONIC SWITCHING
 Most current networks employ electronic processing and use the optical
fiber only as a transmission medium. Switching and processing of data are
performed by converting an optical signal back to electronic form.
 Electronic switches provide a high degree of flexibility in terms of
switching and routing functions.
 The speed of electronics, however, is unable to match the high bandwidth
of an optical fiber (Given that fibre has a potential bandwidth of approximately
50 Tb/s – nearly four orders of magnitude higher than peak electronic data
rates).
 An electronic conversion at an intermediate node in the network
introduces extra delay.
 Electronic equipment is strongly dependent on the data rate and protocol
(any system upgrade results in the addition/replacement of electronic
switching equipment).
ALL-OPTICAL SWITCHING
 All-optical switches get their name from being able to carry light from their
input to their output ports in its native state – as pulses of light rather than
changes in electrical voltage.
 All-optical switching is independent on data rate and data protocol.
 Results in a reduction in the network equipment, an increase in the
switching speed, a decrease in the operating power.

Basic electronic switch Basic optical switch

NETWORK APPLICATIONS
 Protection switching
 Optical Cross-Connect (OXC)
 Optical Add/Drop Multiplexing (OADM)
 Optical Spectral Monitoring (OSM)
Switching applications and the system level functions
System level functions Applications
Protection OADM OSM OXC matrix
DWDM (metro, long-haul) X X X

SONET, SDH transport (point-to-point X X

links, optical rings)
Crossconnect (optical or electrical X X X (optical core based
cores) systems only)
Routing (meshes, edges of networks) X X
PROTECTION SWITCHING
OPTICAL CROSS CONNECT
OPTICAL ADD/DROP MULTIPLEXING
OPTICAL SPECTRAL MONITORING
 To monitor each channel’s optical spectra for wavelength accuracy,
optical power levels, and optical crosstalk.
 OSM usually wraps software processing around optical switches, optical
filters and optical-to-electrical converters.
 The optical switch size dependence on the system wavelength density and
desired monitoring thoroughness
 it is important in the OSM application, because the tapped optical signal is
very low in optical signal power, that the optical switch has a high extinction
ratio (low interference between paths), low insertion loss, and good
uniformity.
OPTICAL FUNCTIONS REQUIRED
Ultra-fast and ultra-short optical pulse generation

High speed modulation and detection

High capacity multiplexing

 Wavelength division multiplexing

 Optical time division multiplexing

Wideband optical amplification

Optical switching and routing

Optical clock extraction and regeneration

Ultra-low dispersion and low non-linearity fibre

PARAMETERS OF AN OPTICAL SWITCH
 Switching time
 Insertion loss: the fraction of signal power that is lost because of the
switch. Usually measured in decibels and must be as small as possible. The
insertion loss of a switch should be about the same for all input-output
connections (loss uniformity).
 Crosstalk: the ratio of the power at a specific output from the desired input
to the power from all other inputs.
 Extinction ratio: the ratio of the output power in the on-state to the output
power in the off-state. This ratio should be as large as possible.
 Polarization-dependent loss (PDL): if the loss of the switch is not equal for
both states of polarization of the optical signal, the switch is said to have
polarization-dependent loss. It is desirable that optical switches have low
PDL.
 Other parameters: reliability, energy usage, scalability (ability to build
switches with large port counts that perform adequately), and temperature
resistance.
 OPTICAL SWITCHING ELEMENT TECHNOLOGIES
High Loss
Not Scalable
Polarization Dependent
Gel/oil based Liquid
LiNbO Crystal
3
Poor Reliability

Mechanical
Indium
Phosphide Optical
Switching
Element SOA
SiO2 /Si
Technologies

Micro-Optic
Fibre (MEMS)
(acousto -optic)
Thermo-
optic Bubble Can be configured in two or three
Waveguide dimensional architectures

Free Space
WDM Optical Networking Cannes 2000 Jacqueline Edwards, Nortel
Opto-mechanical
Inc. MEMS
OPTOMECHANICAL
 Optomechanical technology was the first commercially available for optical
switching.
 The switching function is performed by some mechanical means. These
mechanical means include prisms, mirrors, and directional couplers.
 Mechanical switches exhibit low insertion losses, low polarization-
dependent loss, low crosstalk, and low fabrication cost.
 Their switching speeds are in the order of a few milliseconds (may not be
acceptable for some types of applications).
 Lack of scalability (limited to 1X2 and 2X2 ports sizes).
 Moving parts – low reliability.
 Mainly used in fiber protection and very-low-port-count wavelength
add/drop applications.
MEMS MICROSCOPIC MIRROR OPTICAL SWITCH ARRAY
MEMS BASED OPTICAL SWITCH
 MEMS stands for "Micro-ElectroMechanical System"
 Systems are mechanical but very small
 Fabricated in silicon using established semiconductor processes
 MEMS first used in automotive, sensing and other applications
 Optical MEMS switch uses a movable micro mirror
 Fundamentally a space division switching element

Two axis motion

Micro mirror
MICRO-ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SYSTEM (MEMS)

 MEMS can be considered a subcategory of optomechanical switches,

however, because of the fabrication process and miniature natures, they have
different characteristics, performance and reliability concerns.
 MEMS use tiny reflective surfaces to redirect the light beams to a desired
port by either ricocheting the light off of neighboring reflective surfaces to a
port, or by steering the light beam directly to a port.
 Analog-type, or 3D, MEMS mirror arrays have reflecting surfaces that pivot
about axes to guide the light.
 Digital-type, or 2D, MEMS have reflective surfaces that “pop up” and “lay
down” to redirect the light beam propagating parallel to the surface of
substrate.
 The reflective surfaces’ actuators may be electrostatically-driven or
electromagnetically-driven with hinges or torsion bars that bend and
straighten the miniature mirrors.
2D MEMS BASED OPTICAL SWITCH MATRIX

Output fibre

Input fibre

 Mirrors have only two possible positions

 Light is routed in a 2D plane
 For N inputs and N outputs we need N2
mirrors
 Loss increases rapidly with N
SEM photo of 2D MEMS mirrors
3D MEMS BASED OPTICAL SWITCH MATRIX

 Mirrors require complex closed-loop analog control

 But loss increases only as a function of N1/2
 Higher port counts possible SEM photo of 3D MEMS mirrors
LUCENT LAMBDA ROUTER OPTICAL SWITCH
 Based on microscopic mirrors (see photo)
 Uses MEMS (Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems) technology
 Routes signals from fibre-to-fibre in a space division switching matrix
 Matrix with up to 256 mirrors is currently possible
 256 mirror matrix occupies less than 7 sq. cm of space
 Does not include DWDM Mux/Demux, this is carried out elsewhere
 Supports bit rates up to 40 Gb/s and beyond
LIQUID CRYSTAL SWITCHING
LIQUID CRYSTAL SWITCHING
 LC based switching is a promising contender - offers good optical
performance and speed, plus ease of manufacture.
 Different physical mechanisms for LC switches:
• LC switch based on light beam diffraction
• LC switch based dynamic holograms
• Deflection LC switching
• LC switching based on selective reflection
• LC switching based on total reflection

 Total reflection and selective reflection based switches possess

the smallest insertion loss
 D.I.T. research project has investigated:
• A selective reflection cholesteric mirror switch
• A total reflection LC switch
DIT Group LC SDS
Switch (Nematic)
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION LC SWITCH
LIQUID CRYSTAL (TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION)

3 2
1 The glass and
Input beam
nematic liquid
Output beam crystal refractive
(transmittive state) indices are
3 chosen to be
1
equal in the
transmittive
Output beam
(reflective state)
state and to
satisfy the total
reflection
condition in the
Schematic diagram of the total reflection
reflective state
switch: 1- glass prisms; 2- liquid crystal layer;
3-spacers
ELECTRO-OPTIC RESPONSE OF TIR SWITCH

Off State On State

SOME PHOTOS OF THE TIR LC SWITCH

Early visible light

demonstration

Switching element
close-up
 DIT Group LC SDS
Switch (Ferroelectric)
FERROELECTRIC SWITCH
 Previous work used nematic liquid crystals to control total internal
reflection at a glass prism – liquid crystal interface.
 Nematic switches:
 Low loss,
 Low crosstalk level,
 Relatively slow , switching time is in the ms range
 Latest work investigates an all-optical switch using ferroelectric liquid
crystal.
 The central element of the switch is a ferroelectric liquid crystal
controllable half-waveplate.
OPERATING PRINCIPLE

The switching element consists of two Beam Displacing (BD) Calcite

Crystals and FLC cell that acts as a polarisation control element.

Two incoming signals A and B are set to be linearly polarised in orthogonal

directions.
Both signals enter the calcite crystal with polarisation directions aligned with
the crystal’s orientation.
Both signals emerge as one ray with two orthogonal polarisations,
representing signals A and B.
For the through state (a) the light beam is passing through the FLC layer
without changing polarization direction. Two signals A and B will continue
propagate in the same course as they entered the switch.
If the controllable FLC is activated (b), the two orthogonal signals will
undergo a 90 degree rotation, meaning the signals A and B will interchange.
FLC EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

Polarising
FLC Layer Beamsplitter
P

Laser PD

Generator
PD Oscilloscope
BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE SWITCH
BD BD
, ,
(a) A A
Through
State B B
l/2 l/2
FLC cell (+E)

BD BD
,
(b) A B
Switched
State B A
l/2 l/2
FLC cell (-E)
LIQUID CRYSTAL
 Liquid crystal switches work by
Input 2 processing polarisation state of the
Broad light. Apply a voltage and the liquid
Band crystal element allows one
Folding polarization state to pass through.
Mirror Apply no voltage and the liquid
Input 1 crystal element passes through the
ortogonal polarization state.
Liquid
Polarization Crystal  These polarization states are
Beam Cell steered to the desired port, are
Splitter processed, and are recombined to
recover the original signal’s
Output 1
properties.
Broad
Band  With no moving parts, liquid
Folding Polarization crystal is highly reliable and has
Liquid Beam
Mirror Crystal good optical performance, but can
Combiner
Cell be affected by extreme
temperatures.
Output 2
OUTPUT SIDE OF EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
Photodiode
Polarising
Beamsplitter

Photodiode

FLC Layer
 SWITCHING SPEED EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Switching time is strongly

dependent on control 40

voltage 35
tfall
30 traise
Rise and fall times are
25
approximately the same

Time (ms)
20
Order of magnitude better 15
than Nematic LC
10

For a drive voltage of 30 V 5

FLC speed is 16 ms. 0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Equivalent Nematic speed is Control Voltage (V)
much higher at 340 ms.
PERFORMANCE COMPARISON OF LC
SWITCHES

* This parameter can be improved by using of anti-reflection coatings

**Switching time for the Total Reflection switch can be improved by using FLCs
Other SDS Switches
INDIUM PHOSPHIDE SWITCH
THERMO-OPTICAL
 Planar lightwave circuit thermo-optical switches are usually polymer-based
or silica on silicon substrates. Electronic switches provide a high degree of
flexibility in terms of switching and routing functions.
 The operation of these devices is based on thermo optic effect. It consists
in the variation of the refractive index of a dielectric material, due to
temperature variation of the material itself.
 Thermo-optical switches are small in size but have a drawback of having
high driving-power characteristics and issues of optical performance.
 There are two categories of thermo-optic switches:
Interferometric
Digital optical switches
THERMO-OPTICAL SWITCH. INTERFEROMETRIC

The device is based on Mach-

Zender interferometer. Consists of
a 3-dB coupler that splits the signal
into two beams, which then travel
through two distinct arms of the
same length, and a second 3-dB
coupler, which merges and finally
splits the signal again.
Heating one arm of the
interferometer causes its
rerfractive index to change. A
variation of the optical path of that
arm is experienced. It is thus
possible to vary the phase
difference between the light beams.
As interference is constructive or
destructive, the power on alternate
outputs is minimized or maximized.
GEL/OIL BASED
 Index-matching gel- and oil-based optical switches can be classified as a
subset of thermo-optical technology, as the switch substrate needs to heat
and cool to operate.
 The switch is made up of two layers: a silica bottom layer, through which
optical signals travel, and a silicon top level, containing the ink-jet
technology.
 In the bottom level, two series of waveguides intersect each other at an
angle of about 1200. At each cross-point between the two guides, a tiny
hollow is filled in with a liquid that exhibits the same refractive index of silica,
in order to allow propagation of signals in normal conditions. When a portion
of the switch is heated, a refractive index change is caused at the waveguide
junctions. This effect results in the generation of tiny bubbles. In this case,
the light is deflected into a new guide, crossing the path of the previous one.
 Good modular scalability, drawbacks: low reliability, thermal management,
optical insertion losses.
AGILENT BUBBLE SWITCH
Based on a combination of Planar Lightwave Circuit (PLC) and inkjet technology
Switch fabric demonstrations have reached 32 x 32 by early 2001
Uses well established high volume production technology

Bubble switch

Planar lightguides
ELECTRO-OPTICAL

 Electro-optical switches use highly birefringent substrate material and

electrical fields to redirect light from one port to another.
 A popular material to use is Lithium Niobate.
 Fast switches (typically in less than a nanosecond). This switching time
limit is determined by the capacitance of the electrode configuration.
 Electrooptic switches are also reliable, but they pay the price of high
insertion loss and possible polarization dependence.
LITHIUM NIOBATE WAVEGUIDE SWITCH

The switch below constructed on a lithium niobate waveguide. An electrical

voltage applied to the electrodes changes the substrate’s index of refraction.
The change in the index of refraction manipulates the light through the
appropriate waveguide path to the desired port.

An electrooptic directional coupler switch

ACOUSTO-OPTIC

 The operation of acousto-optic switches is based on the acousto-optic

effect, i.e., the interaction between sound and light.
 The principle of operation of a polarization-insensitive acousto-optic
switch is as follows. First, the input signal is split into its two polarized
components (TE and TM) by a polarization beam splitter. Then, these two
components are directed to two distinct parallel waveguides. A surface
acoustic wave is subsequently created. This wave travels in the same
direction as the lightwaves. Through an acousto-optic effect in the material,
this forms the equivalent of a moving grating, which can be phase-matched to
an optical wave at a selected wavelength. A signal that is phase-matched is
“flipped” from the TM to the TE mode (and vice versa), so that the polarization
beam splitter that resides at the output directs it to the lower output. A signal
that was not phase-matched exits on the upper output.
ACOUSTO-OPTIC SWITCH

Schematic of a polarization independent acousto-optic switch.

If the incoming signal is multiwavelength, it is even possible to switch

several different wavelengths simultaneously, as it is possible to have
several acoustic waves in the material with different frequencies at the
same time. The switching speed of acoustooptic switches is limited by the
speed of sound and is in the order of microseconds.
SEMICONDUCTOR OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS (SOA)

 An SOA can be used as an ON–OFF switch by varying the bias voltage.

 If the bias voltage is reduced, no population inversion is achieved, and
the device absorbs input signals. If the bias voltage is present, it amplifies
the input signals. The combination of amplification in the on-state and
absorption in the off-state makes this device capable of achieving very high
extinction ratios.
 Larger switches can be fabricated by integrating SOAs with passive
couplers. However, this is an expensive component, and it is difficult to
make it polarization independent.
COMPARISON OF OPTICAL SWITCHING TECHNOLOGIES

Platform Scheme Strengths Weaknesses Potential

applications
Opto- Employ Optical Speed, bulky, Protection
mechanical electromecha performance, scalability switching, OADM,
nical “old” technology OSM
actuators to
redirect a
light beam
MEMS Use tiny Size, scalability Packaging, OXC, OADM, OSM
reflective reliability
surfaces

Thermo-optical Temper. Integration wafer- Optical OXC, OADM

control to level performance,
change index manufacturability power
of refraction consumption,
speed, scalability
COMPARISON OF OPTICAL SWITCHING TECHNOLOGIES
(CONTD)
Platform Scheme Strengths Weaknesses Potential
applications
Liquid Crystal Processing of Reliability, optical Scalability, Protection
polarisation performance temperature switching, OADM,
states of light dependency OSM

Gel/oil based A subset of Modular scalability Unclear reliability, OXC, OADM

thermo- high insertion loss
optical
technology
Magneto- Faraday Speed Optical Protection
optics performance switching, OADM,
OSM, packet
switching
COMPARISON OF OPTICAL SWITCHING TECHNOLOGIES
(CONTD)
Platform Scheme Strengths Weaknesses Potential
applications
Acousto-optic Acousto-optic Size, speed Optical OXC, OADM
effect, RF performance
signal tuning

Electro-optic Dielectric Speed High insertion loss, OXC, OADM, OSM

polarisation,
scalability,
expensive
SOA-based Speed, loss Noise, scalability OXC
compensation
APPLICATION, SWICHING TIME AND PORT
REQUIREMENTS OF OPTICAL SWITCHES
OTHER IMPORTANT SWITCHING PARAMETERS

The extinction ratio of an on-off switch is the ratio of the output

power in the on state to the output power in the off state.
This ratio should be as large as possible and is particularly
important in external modulators.
For
simple mechanical switches - 40–50 dB,
high-speed external modulators - 10–25 dB.
 SWITCHING PARAMETERS…..

The insertion loss of a switch is the fraction of power (usually in

dB) that is lost because of the presence of the switch and must be
as small as possible.
Some switches have different losses for different input-output
connections.
An undesirable feature - increases the dynamic range of the
signals in the network.
Variable optical attenuators are used to equalize the loss across
different paths.
This loss uniformity is determined primarily by the architecture
used to build the switch, rather than the inherent technology itself
 SWITCHING PARAMETER…….

Crosstalk :
For a given switching state or interconnection pattern, and output, the
crosstalk is the ratio of the power at that output from the desired input
to the power from all other inputs.
Usually, the crosstalk of a switch is defined as the worst-case crosstalk
over all outputs and interconnection patterns.
 SWITCHING PARAMETER….
PDL:
Switches should have a low polarization-dependent loss (PDL).

When used as external modulators, polarization dependence

can be tolerated since the switch is used immediately following
the laser, and the laser’s output state of polarization can be
controlled by using a special polarization-preserving fiber to
couple the light from the laser into the external modulator.
 SWITCHING PARAMETER….
A latching switch maintains its switch state even if power is
turned off to the switch.
A somewhat desirable feature because it enables traffic to be passed through the
switch even in the event of power failures.

Read Out Capability: Needs to have a readout capability

wherein its current state can be monitored.
This is important to verify that the right connections are made through the switch.
 SWITCHING PARAMETERS…….
• The reliability of the switch is an important factor in telecommunications
applications.
• The common way of establishing reliability is to cycle the switch through
its various states a large number of times, perhaps a few million cycles.
• However, in the provisioning and protection-switching applications, the
switch remains in one state for a long period, say, even a few years, and
is then activated to change state.
• The reliability issue here is whether the switch will actually switch after it
has remained untouched for a long period.
• This property is more difficult to establish without a long-term history of
deployment.
 MAIN CONSIDERATION IN BUILDING LARGE
OPTICAL SWICHES
Number of switch elements required: variable No. of elements
requirement determine to certain extent Cost and complexity of the switch
(packaging. Slicing, fabrication and control are other factors)

Loss uniformity: loss uniformity can be obtained by considering the

minimum and maximum number of switch elements in the optical path,
for different input and output combinations
Number of crossovers: Some of the optical switches are fabricated
by integrating multiple switch elements on a single substrate, where
connections between the various components must be made in a single
layer by means of waveguides. If the paths of two waveguides cross, two
undesirable effects are introduced: power loss and crosstalk. (Minimum
crossovers are desirab;le)
 CONTINUE………
Blocking characteristics:
Non Blocking: capable of realizing every interconnection pattern
between the inputs and the outputs
Blocking Type: If some interconnection pattern(s) cannot be realized,
the switch is said to be blocking
Wide Sense Non-Blocking: if any unused input can be connected to
any unused output, without requiring any existing connection to be
rerouted
Strict sense non blocking: allows any unused input to be connected
to any unused output regardless of how previous connections were
made through the switch
CONTINUE………
• A nonblocking switch that may require rerouting of connections to
achieve the nonblocking property is said to be rearrangeably
nonblocking.
• Rerouting of connections depends on the application since the
connection must be interrupted, at least briefly, in order to switch it to a
different path.
• The advantage of rearrangeably nonblocking switch architectures is that
they use fewer small switches to build a larger switch of a given size,
compared to the wide-sense nonblocking switch architectures.
• While rearrangeably nonblocking architectures use fewer switches, they
require a more complex control algorithm to set up connections.
• The main drawback of rearrangeably nonblocking switches is that many
applications will not allow existing connections to be disrupted, even
temporarily, to accommodate a new connection.
COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT SWITCH
ARCHITECTURES

Note: Switch count for the Spanke architecture is made in terms of 1

×n switches, whereas 2 ×2 switches are used for the other
architectures
 CROSSBAR SWITCH
ARCHITECTURE
• Wide-sense nonblocking architecture

• Interconnection between inputs and outputs

achieved by appropriately setting the states
of these 2 × 2 switches

• To connect input i to output j , the path taken

traverses the 2×2 switches in row i till it
reaches column j and then traverses the
switches in column j till it reaches output j

• If this connection rule is used, this switch is

nonblocking and does not require existing
connections to be rerouted

• An n×n crossbar requires n2 2×2 switches

• The shortest path length is 1 and the longest

path length is 2n − 1
A 4 × 4 crossbar switch realized
using 16 2 × 2 switches
CLOS ARCHITECTURE
1024 × 1024 switch realized using 32 × 64 and 32 × 32 switches
interconnected in a three-stage

k = No of switches in each 1st and last stage having size (mxp) = No of input and output
ports on middle stage switches
p = No of switches in middle stage having size (kxk)
 CONSTRUCTION…..
• Use three parameters, m, k, and p and Let n = mk
• No. of (2x2) switching elements each in 1st and last stage = k (m x p)
• No. of (2x2) switching elements in middle stage = p (k x k)
• Usually, the individual switches in each stage are designed using
crossbar switches
• Condition for strict sense nonblocking switch p ≥ 2m – 1
(to be verified)
• If we let p = (2m – 1) (for minimum cost design)
• Then total No. of 2x2 switching elements required
2k[m x (2m – 1)] + k2 (2m – 1) …………………………[A]
• Replacing k = n/m, it can be shown that the number of switching
elements is minimized when m ≈√ (n/2) …………………..[B]
• And Switching elements required for minimum cost configuration
= 4√2n3/2 – 4n ………………………………............]C]
CLOS ARCHITECTURE………..

Some Salient features

• Suitable for use in a multistage switch fabric
• Loss uniformity between different input-output combinations
is better than a crossbar
• Requires significantly smaller number of switch elements than
a crossbar
 SPANKE ARCHITECTURE
• Strict-sense nonblocking architecture

• Uses 2 stage construction with each

stage consisting of n switches of size (1
x n)

• 1 x n switches can be constructed

using MEMS technology (Analog
beam stearing)

• Require 2n total switching elements to

construct nxn switch

• This implies that the switch cost scales

n × n switch realized using 2n 1 × linearly with n, which is significantly
n switches better than other switch architectures
 SPANKE ……….

Salient features
• Switch cost scales linearly with n, which is significantly better than other
switch architectures
• Each connection passes through two switch elements, which is significantly
smaller than the number of switch elements in the path for other multistage
designs
• A much lower insertion loss than the multistage designs
• Optical path length for all the input–output combinations can be made
essentially the same, so that the loss is the same regardless of the specific
input–output combination
BENEˇS ARCHITECTURE
• Rearrangeably nonblocking switch
architecture
• Most efficient switch architectures
in terms of the number of 2 × 2
switches it uses to build larger
switches
• An n×n Beneˇs switch requires
(n/2)(2 log2 n − 1) 2 × 2 switches, n
being a power of two

8×8 switch realized using 20 2×2 switches

BENEˇS ARCHITECTURE………..

Pros and Cons

Each path goes through 2 log2 n−1 2×2 switches so the loss is the same
through every path in the switch
It is not wide-sense nonblocking and
A number of waveguide crossovers are required, making it difficult to
fabricate in integrated optics
SPANKE-BENEˇS ARCHITECTURE

• Architecture was discovered

by Spanke and Beneˇs
• Called as n-stage planar
architecture since it requires n
stages (columns) to realize an
n × n switch
• A good compromise between
the crossbar and Beneˇs
switch architectures
• A rearrangeably nonblocking
8×8 switch using

8×8 switch realized using 28 2×2

switches
Merrits
• No waveguide crossovers
• In general it requires n(n − 1)/2 switches
(eg. Uses 28 2×2 switches for 8x8 switch
• The shortest path length is n/2, and the longest path length is n

De-merrits
• It is not wide-sense nonblocking and
• The loss is nonuniform