Patent ID: 7373037

Claim:
An optical switch, comprising: a first plurality of optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) routers, each said router having at least one optical input and a plurality of optical outputs, each said router configured to receive an optical input signal and optically route individual wavelength channels in said optical signal to said optical outputs; a second plurality of optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) routers, each said router having a plurality of optical inputs and at least one optical output, each said router configured to optically route individual wavelength channels received on said optical inputs to said optical output; a plurality of single axis mirrors within each router of said first plurality of optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) routers and said first plurality of optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) routers; said single axis mirrors configured for selecting wavelength channels and directing them between the optical inputs and outputs of said first and second plurality of optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) routers in response to the position of said single axis mirrors; wherein accurate wavelength channel selection of said first and second optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) routers is enhanced as said single axis mirrors require only one-dimensional control; a plurality of optical pathways interconnecting each of the plurality of optical outputs in said first plurality of routers to said optical inputs in said second plurality of routers, wherein the different optical outputs of a given router within said first plurality of optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) routers are optically coupled to different optical inputs on different routers within said second plurality of optical wavelength division multiplexing routers; wherein said first and second plurality of optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) routers comprise all optical routers.