The primary focus of this work is to resolve issues dealing with the design and implementation of high bandwidth reconfigurable interconnect systems based on Micro ElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) which are commonly referred to as Micromachines. Different guided-wave optical and holographic free-space optical switch elements are being implemented and compared in terms of bandwidth, switch reconfiguration rate, and range of programmability. Application to data switching, and programmable interconnect devices for rapid prototyping are being addressed with attention to both technological and system-wide performance/cost design issues. Comparisons are made with conventional technologies. Also being investigated is the application of some of the optical MEMS elements to advanced image projection.
