Abstract

The reliability performance of two similar 128×128 optical cross-connects has been studied. The reliability of the all-optical (AO) or transparent version and the electronic cross-point (OEO) or opaque version has been compared. The AO version of OXC is based on 16×16 opto-rnechanical switch matrices of Micro-Electronic Opto-Mechanical System (MEOMS) type while OEO version is based on 16×16 electronic cross-point switch (XPS) matrices. It is shown that from a reliability viewpoint, the optical cross-connect based on opto-mechanical switch matrices is better than that with electrical cross-point switches. Influence of capacity expansion on system reliability is discussed.

© 1999 Optical Society of America