Abstract
Semiconductor optical switches and their optical integrated circuits have been expected to play an important in a future optical transmission network, such as B-ISDN. This paper, reviews recent studies of the semiconductor optical switches based on various kinds of operation principles for prospecting future development. Also summarized is our study of an InP-based optical switch operating through a carrier-induced refractive index change, which is suitable for large-scale integration, polarization independence, and wavelength insesitivity. Preliminary experimental results of photonic ATM switching by an InP-based 4×4 optical switch array are introduced briefly as an application to the optical network.
