A 22 optical switching apparatus using photonic crystal structures has a
compact, simple structure and includes an optical-guide module having first, second,
third and fourth waveguides, the first and second waveguides guiding a first optical
signal of a first input port to a first and a second output port, respectively,
the third and fourth waveguides guiding a second optical signal of a second input
port to the second and the first output ports, respectively, and formed with photonic
crystals having a complete photonic bandgap for a wavelength range of the first
and second optical signals, and a switching control section controlling the first
and second optical signals to be respectively guided through either a first/third
waveguide route or a second/fourth waveguide route according to a route-selecting-control
signal inputted from outside. The 22 optical switching apparatus has no mechanical
motion, little polarization dependence and may be efficiently used in optical networks.