This book outlines the current status of research in photonic switching and details the latest scientific achievements and trends in this field. The topics treated include guided-wave devices, optically controlled devices, space-division switching, free-space and wavelength-based switching and devices, and packet switching. Several contributions provide a broad overview of some of the most rapidly developing areas, such as optical amplifiers, nonlinear optical devices, and free-space digital optics. This is an ideal reference book for researchers wishing to learn about and understand the recent rapid progress in photonic switching