Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Optical switching technologies

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

A discrete optical switch has two, three, or four ports that allow switching operations such as ON/OFF or exchange/bypass to be carried out. If it is electrically controlled, we recognize in this category devices such as microoptic modules, reed-relaylike fibers, and lithium niobate guided-wave directional couplers. All provide transparent bidirectional optical paths of huge bandwidth and low insertion loss. Switching times can vary from milliseconds to picoseconds. Matrices formed from such elements have been demonstrated up to ~16×16 in size, by which time fabrication, optical insertion loss, and optical and crosstalk problems become very severe. Wiring large arrays of fiber-based devices rapidly generates difficult fiber handling problems just as in large integrated optic chips. The problems of lithography escalate, and the constraints Imposed by a single wiring plane restrict design freedom. Moreover, in the case of lithium niobate, with three electrodes per cross-point, a 16×16 matrix implies over 500 pin-outs even allowing for a common ground plane. Electrical connection and drive problems can thus be expected to set a limit to the speed and complexity achievable also.

© 1988 Optical Society of America

PDF Article
More Like This
Multiband Optical Switch Technology

Takashi Goh, Keita Yamaguchi, and Ai Yanagihara
W4B.1 Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2022

Optical switching—which technology?

I. Bennion
CTuT2 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO:S&I) 1991

Technology Evolution of All Optical Switching

Ning Deng and Wei Jia
AF4D.1 Asia Communications and Photonics Conference (ACP) 2016

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved