The first topical meeting on Photonic Switching was held March 18-20, 1987 in Incline Village, Nev., USA in conjunction with the second topical meeting on Optical Computing. It was sponsored by the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society and the Optical Society of America with the co operation of the IEEE Communications Society. The attendance at these meetings was well in excess of 500 persons - a measure of the growing worldwide interest in optical techniques for switching and signal process ing. Our goal in organizing the Photonic Switching meeting was to provide a forum for the presentation of original papers on the subjects of devices and architectures suitable for switching, multiplexing or routing of optical signals. The purpose of the meeting was to foster and enhance interaction between two groups that share a common interest in exploring possible applications of photonic switching technology: people working on optical switching devices and components, and people working on future switching systems and networks.

The 1990 International Topical Meeting on Photonic Switching was held April 12-14, 1990, in Kobe, Japan, in conjunction with the 1990 International Meet ing on Optical Computing. It was sponsored by the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers in cooperation with the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society, the Optical Society of America, and the Japan So ciety of Applied Physics. The attendance was in excess of 340 persons, with 18 countries represented - a testimony to the current international interest in photonic switching. This book contains expanded and more detailed versions of most of the papers presented at the topical meeting. With the success of optical fibers there is an increased demand for a switch ing system that can operate directly on the light present in the fibers. The goal is to reduce the total number of optical-to-electrical and electrical-to-optical transformations as far as possible, in addition to exploiting the large spec tral and temporal bandwidth offered by such an optically transparent system.

In response to the increasing interest in developing photonic switching fabrics, this book gives an overview of the many technologies from a systems designer's perspective. Optically transparent devices, optical logic devices, and optical hardware are all discussed in detail and set into a systems context. Comprehensive, up-to-date, and profusely illustrated, the work will provide a foundation for the field, especially as broadband services are more fully developed.

Surveys recent advances in combinatorial properties of switching fabrics Written by an expert in the area of switching fabrics

This book introduces the reader to the optical switching technology for its application to data centers. In addition, it takes a picture of the status of the technology and system architecture evolution and of the research in the area of optical switching in data center. The book is organized in four parts: the first part is focused on the system aspects of optical switching in intra-data center networking, the second part is dedicated to describing the recently demonstrated optical switching networks, the third part deals with the latest technologies developed to enable optical switching and, finally, the fourth part of the book outlines the future prospects and trends.

Applications of optical switching in network elements and communication networks are discussed in considerable depth. Optical circuits, packet, and burst switching are all included. Composed of distinct self-contained chapters with minimum overlaps and independent references. Provides up-to-date comprehensive coverage of optical switching, technologies, devices, systems and networks. Discusses applications of optical switching in network elements and communications networks.