Fiber arrays for large optical cross-connect switches; a design and reliability study

Free space optical interconnection offers the potential for large number of interconnections. Recently, such an optical interconnection scheme has been considered for large-scale optical cross connect switches. These systems require fiber arrays for bringing in or taking out optical signals from the switching fabric. 

As the I/O port count increases, maintaining and holding the fiber pitch to tight tolerances, under various operating and transportation conditions dictated by the Telecordia specifications becomes increasingly difficult. In this paper we will briefly present the typical fiber array specifications for 256x256 and 1024x1024 optical cross connect switches, fabrication, and performance of the fiber arrays.