Optical switch

About: Optical switch is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 28538 publications have been published within this topic receiving 351176 citations.

Compact, low-loss and low-power 8×8 broadband silicon optical switch

Abstract: We demonstrated a 8×8 broadband optical switch on silicon for transverse-electrical polarization using a switch-and-selector architecture. The switch has a footprint of only 8 mm × 8 mm, minimum on-chip loss of about 4 dB, and a port-to-port insertion loss variation of only 0.8 dB near some spectral regions. The port-to-port isolation is above 30 dB over the entire 80-nm-wide spectral range or above 45 dB near the central 30 nm. We also demonstrated a switching power of less than 1.5 mW per element and a speed of 2 kHz, and estimated the upper bound of total power consumption to be less than 70 mW even without optimization of the default state of the individual switch elements.

ORMOCER®s for optical interconnection technology

Abstract: New inorganic-organic hybrid polymers (ORMOCER®s) for integrated optical and opto-electronic devices were synthesized by sol-gel processing of functionalized alkoxysilanes. Process parameters (catalyst, temperature etc.) were optimized to achieve highly reproducible low cost materials which are photopatternable even in higher layer thickness (presently 100 μm within one step). The resulting materials have low optical losses at the most important wavelengths for telecommunications in the NIR range (0.3 dB/cm at 1320 nm, 0.6 dB/cm at 1550 nm) and a variety of additional advantageous properties for optical interconnection technology and production of opto-electronic devices: good wetting and adhesion on various substrates (e.g. glass, silicon and several polymers), low processing temperatures (post-bake at 150°C) and high thermal stability (decomposition at 270°C) compared to alternative opto-polymers for NIR applications. A further advantage is a tunable refractive index, which can be achieved by mixing different resins.

Optical switching technology comparison: optical MEMS vs. other technologies

Abstract: Optical switching technologies are very crucial to future mobile broadband all-optical IP networks. Many different optical switching technologies are currently available or under development. The main purpose of the article is to conduct performance comparisons on optical switching technologies in terms of basic performance, network requirements, and system requirements based on a literature survey. The technologies include switching based on optical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), thermal optical switching, electro-optic switching, and acousto-optic switching technologies. Each optical switching technology has unique performance characteristics specific to the utilized optical phenomena. It might be crucial to integrate some technologies together to achieve a better solution for optical switching. Optical switching is a very hot topic attracting much research effort. Optical MEMS-based switching technology might be one of the most promising approaches at present. Many new optical switching technologies might be created in the near future. Through the impact of nanotechnology, some innovative approaches to optical switching might emerge.

Free-space fiber-optic switches based on MEMS vertical torsion mirrors

Abstract: This paper reports on the design, fabrication, and performance of a novel MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical-system) fiber-optic switch based on surface-micromachined vertical torsion mirrors. The vertical torsion mirror itself can be used as a 1/spl times/2 or an ON-OFF switch. A 2/spl times/2 MEMS fiber-optic switch with four vertical torsion mirrors has also been fabricated. The switching voltage is measured to be 80 V for switching angles of 45/spl deg/. We have achieved a switching time of less than 400 /spl mu/s (fall time) and an optical insertion loss of 1.25 dB for single-mode fibers. In addition, a bulk-micromachined silicon submount has been developed to package the switch with microball lenses and multimode fibers with passive alignment. With the micromachined switch chip and the hybrid-packaging scheme, the size, weight, and potentially the cost of the fiber-optic switches can be dramatically reduced.

Architectural considerations for photonic IP router based upon optical code correlation

Abstract: A photonic label switching router (PLSR) of which the photonic label processing is based upon optical code correlation, is investigated. To resolve the electronic router's bottleneck in current Internet protocol (IP) over wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks, we will envision IP over photonic networks in which the PLSRs totally replace the electronic routers. The architectures of PLSR including the photonic label processing, the photonic label swapping, and the optical switching and their optical implementations are studied. Results of proof-of-concept experiments for the photonic label processing and photonic label swapping will confirm the feasibility to attain the target performance: the throughput of 100 Tb/s at least, the processing speed around 10 Gpacket/s, and the number of label entries up to 10 k.