Optical Crossover Interconnections

The crossover network is introduced as a new interconnection network for optical digital computers. It belongs to the class of multistage interconnection networks such as the perfect shuffle and the Banyan network. For connecting N = 2k input ports to N output ports (where k is an arbitrary integer) log2(N) stages are required. The crossover network holds an isomorphic relationship to the perfect shuffle and the Banyan network. However, using a Michelson-based optical setup the crossover network can be implemented with a higher efficiency in terms of the number of connections and conservation of light. Experimental results are presented where more than 1000 interconnections are implemented.