7×7 DMD-based diffractive fiber switch at 1550 nm

We have implemented and tested a free-space diffraction-based non-blocking 7×7 switch built primarily using off-the-shelf components and a commercially available digital micro-mirror device (DMD). This DMD is capable of switching 100 times faster than currently available technologies. The switch is protocol and bit-rate agnostic, robust against random mirror failure, and provides the basic building block for a fully reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexer (ROADM). Our design offers the potential to address the growing need for high speed scalable circuit switching for data centers and optical networks.