Design variations of cross-connects included in the overview are free-space optical micro-mirrors, adiabatic wave couplers, and competing technologies SOA and LCOS. In essence, an OXC uses photonic switching fabric to route wavelength channels from any incoming fiber to any outgoing fiber. An optical cross-connect (OXC) is a device used by telecommunications carriers to switch high-speed optical signals in a fiber optic network, such as an optical mesh network. In the 1980s, when transmission speeds supported by optical fibers increased from 45 Mbit/s to 2. An OXC switches optical signals between fiber inputs and outputs without converting them to electrical signals, enabling true all-optical routing. A background in telecommunications is provided for a description of core components (multiplexer, cross-connect) in data networks.
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