We have developed the first silica-based PLC type 32 x 32 optical matrix switch. The switch is the largest scale waveguide type switch yet reported, which has excellent optical characteristics with an average insertion loss of 6.6 dB.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

We review recent progress on optical switches that employ silica-based planar lightwave circuits (PLC) including a 16 x 16 matrix switch, a 1 x 128 switch, an 8-channel 1 x 8 switch array, and a 32-channel 2 x 2 switch array. These switches are composed of silica-based waveguides and have a solid-state structure with no moving parts, thus they exhibit low insertion loss, high repeatability, and excellent long-term reliability. We also describe IC-on-PLC technology, where IC chips are integrated on the PLC surface for higher functionality and greater compactness. We report the results of reliability tests on the PLC switches, and show that they can put to practical use.