An optical switch is an optical device with one or more optional transmission ports, which is used to physically switch or logically operate optical signals in optical transmission lines or integrated optical circuits.
Basic Forms Of Optical Switches
Optical switches play an important role in optical fiber communication technology and are widely used in the conversion of multiple monitors, LANs, multiple light sources, detectors and protection Ethernet, as well as optical fiber, optical fiber equipment testing and network testing. In addition, optical switches also play a role in optical fiber sensing multi-point monitoring systems.
The basic form of an optical switch includes a 2X2 structure, that is, there are two optical fibers at the input and output ends, which can complete two connection states: parallel connection and cross connection. Larger space-division optical switching units can be composed of basic 2X2 optical switches and corresponding 1X2 optical switches cascaded and combined. Optical switches play a very important role in optical networks, such as wavelength adaptation, regeneration and clock extraction in wavelength division multiplexing transmission systems, demultiplexing in optical time division multiplexing systems, and as a key device for optical cross connection and an important device for wavelength conversion in all-optical switching systems. According to the number of input and output ports, optical switches can be divided into 1×1, 1×2, 1×N, 2×2, 2×N, M×N and other types to meet the needs of different occasions.
The classification of optical switches includes mechanical optical switches and micro-electromechanical (MEMS) system switches. Mechanical optical switches have the characteristics of low insertion loss, high isolation, and no influence of polarization and wavelength, but the switching time is long (ms) and the repeatability is poor. MEMS optical switches have the advantages of fast, non-contact, and low energy consumption, and are suitable for application scenarios that require high-speed switching.
