High speed multi-stage switching network formed from stacked switching layers

A compact multi-stage switching network adapted for simultaneously routing a plurality of data packets from a first plurality of input ports to selected ones of a second plurality of output ports comprising:

• a first stack of layers including a plurality of superconducting switching layers that are stacked in physical contact with one another , each superconducting switching layer containing at least one superconducting switching element circuit;
• a second stack of layers including a plurality of superconducting switching layers that are stacked in physical contact with one another , each superconducting switching layer containing at least one superconducting switching element circuit;
• means for interconnecting the the first stack of layers to the second stack of layers to form a compact assembly;
• and
• means for cooling the compact assembly to a superconducting temperature.

A packet switching router adapted for forwarding data packets comprising:

• a plurality of line cards for receiving and transmitting data packets according to a desired protocol over a particular medium, a first line card inspecting destination data in the packet, selecting a desired route, and setting a switch command based on the desired route;
• a compact multi-stage switching network having
• a first stack of IC layers including a plurality of IC switching layers that are stacked in physical contact with one another , each IC switching layer containing at least one switching element circuit;
• a second stack of IC layers including a plurality of IC switching layers that are stacked in physical contact with one another , each IC switching layer containing at least one switching element circuit;
• and
• means for interconnecting the first stack of IC layers to the second stack of IC layers to form the compact multi-stage switching network;
• and
• means for responding to the switch command and routing the data packet through the compact multi-stage switching network to a second line card corresponding to the desired route.

A packet switching router comprising:

• a plurality of line cards;
• compact multi-stage switching network that provides extra switching routes beyond a number necessary to route packet data from line card to line card;
• a shared resource that is commonly available to the line cards;
• and
• means for controllably connecting a line card to the shared resources through the extra switching routes.