  In this paper, we present an architecture and implementation algorithm such
that digital data can be switched in the quantum domain. First we define the
connection digraph which can be used to describe the behavior of a switch at a
given time, then we show how a connection digraph can be implemented using
elementary quantum gates. The proposed mechanism supports unicasting as well as
multicasting, and is strict-sense non-blocking. It can be applied to perform
either circuit switching or packet switching. Compared with a traditional space
or time domain switch, the proposed switching mechanism is more scalable.
Assuming an n-by-n quantum switch, the space consumption grows linearly, i.e.
O(n), while the time complexity is O(1) for unicasting, and O(log n) for
multicasting. Based on these advantages, a high throughput switching device can
be built simply by increasing the number of I/O ports.
