Patent ID: 6947626

Claim:
An optical cross-connect device characterized in that it comprises: a multimode optical waveguide ( 4 , 4 ′) framed in a waveguide supporting substrate ( 3 ) disposed between M input optical fibers ( 1 ) and N output optical fibers ( 2 ), said multimode optical waveguide comprising a plurality of inlet optical waveguides ( 4 ) for receiving and guiding therethrough light beams from said input optical fibers ( 1 ), respectively, and a single outlet optical waveguide ( 4 ′) into which said inlet optical waveguides ( 4 ) converge; a plurality of electrode means ( 10 , 10 a ) associated with said inlet optical waveguides ( 4 ) of said multimode optical waveguide, respectively; a light address detector means ( 14 ) responsive to said light beams prior to entry into said multimode optical waveguide ( 4 , 4 ′) for detecting respective addresses attached to light signals carried by said light beams; a power supply ( 8 ) responsive to said light address detector means ( 14 ) for applying preselected control voltages (V 1 , V 2 , . . . , V N ) to said electrode means ( 10 , 10 a ) to produce associated with said laser beams guided through said multimode optical waveguide ( 4 , 4 ′), particular speckle patterns preselected corresponding to the detected addresses of said light signals, respectively; a holographic filter ( 5 ) made of a recording medium such as of photorefractive crystal, photopolymer or photorefractive polymer formed with a plurality of holograms (H 1 , H 2 , . . . , H N ) for providing a plurality of destinations for said light signals which correspond to said light signal addresses, respectively; and a recording means for preforming such holograms in a recording medium to form said holographic filter ( 5 ), said recording means including a laser unit ( 6 ) for providing a laser beam of a uniform mode, optical components for collimating and splitting the laser beam, including a lens means ( 7 a ) and a beam splitter ( 7 b ), and a beam reflecting mirror ( 7 c ).