Abstract:
Carrier beams of coherent light are directed around a closed coupling loop having n terminals coupled thereto by selective light deflectors which divert a different beam from the loop at each terminal. The loop includes n X n spatially dedicated beam paths. Each terminal modulates its carrier beam and directs the modulated beam by way of the terminal deflector to one of n- 1 different paths in the loop for one of the n-1 other terminals. Likewise, the deflector at each terminal directs to its terminal the modulated carrier beams from the n-1 other terminals.