2.4 Gb/s GaAs 8x8 Time Multiplexed Switch Integrated Circuit

A 2.4 Gb/s GaAs 8x8 matrix switch for high speed digital communication services has been fabricated and tested. Advanced services such as high definition television and enhanced data networking are expected to require such switch chips. To provide these services efficiently and with flexibility, the switch was designed to reconfigure at the data rate of 2.4 Gb/s. This allows the fabric to operate as a time multiplexed switch (TMS) at a bit or byte data rate. The advantage of a TMS over a normal matrix switch is that it greatly reduces the hardware size/complexity (and hence cost) of a switching system. This is accomplished by trading between what can be done in the time domain versus in space.