An Introduction to Optical Switches

Based on the characteristics of magneto-optical switch, such as fast switching speed, high reliability, and low cross talk, a time division multiplexing solid-state lidar based on a fiber magneto-optical switch is proposed. First, the working principle and properties of the time division multiplexing solid-state lidar based on a fiber magneto-optical switch are discussed and examined, and the performance indexes of the magneto-optical switch related to the performance of lidar are tested, including delay time, switch rising edge time, insertion loss, and return loss. Then, a time division multiplexing solid-state lidar system was constructed based on the 1 × 8 optical fiber magneto-optical switch. A time-of-flight (ToF) ranging technology was used to quickly achieve three-dimensional (3D) imaging of the lidar by switching the optical path to the fiber channel at various locations of the two-dimensional beam array. Finally, the 3D point cloud map of the measured object was built in the experiment to confirm the system's all-solid-state 3D imaging capability. The scanning frequency of 510.3 Hz and angular resolution of 0.36° are achieved, and the angular resolution is increased to 0.18° by the microjitter translation platform. The developed technique has advantages over micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) and optical phased array beam imaging technology, including low cost, high energy utilization, and good beam quality.Get more news about Solid State Optical Switch,you can vist our website!

In recent years, the micro-electro mechanical optical switch has developed rapidly. It is a new type of microcomputer-electrical-optical integrated switch produced by the combination of semiconductor micro fabrication technology, micro-optic and micro-mechanical technology. It is a large-capacity switch. The mainstream direction of optical network switch development.

MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System) optical switch is to engrave a number of tiny mirrors on the silicon crystal. Through the action of electrostatic force or electromagnetic force, the movable micro mirrors can be lifted, rotated or moved, thereby changing the transmission of input light direction to realize the function of light path on-off.
An optical switch is a device with one or more selectable transmission windows, which can perform mutual conversion or logical operation on optical signals in optical transmission lines or integrated optical circuits.

In fiber optic transmission systems, optical switches are used for switching between multiple monitors, LAN, multiple light sources, detectors and protected Ethernet. In the fiber optic test system, it is used for fiber optic, fiber optic equipment testing and network testing, fiber optic sensing multi-point monitoring system.

The optical switch can be divided into 1×1, 1×2, 1×N, 2×2, M×N, etc., Its application scope mainly includes: protection switching system of optical network, light source control in optical fiber test, real-time monitoring system of network performance, test of optical device, construction of switching core of OXC equipment, optical add/drop multiplex, optical test, optical sensor system, etc.

Mechanical optical switch

1. Using prism (or reflector) to switch the optical path technology, the principle is to control the displacement of the prism based on the power on/off of the relay. The relay type is divided into self-locking and non-self-locking. The self-locking optical switch will maintain the optical path state after power-on or power-off; the non-self-locking optical switch will maintain one optical path state when the power is off, and switch to another optical path after power-on state. When the power is off, it will return to the state of the optical path when the power was off.
2. Switch the optical path by moving the optical fiber. The principle is to control the displacement of the optical fiber through the numerical control motor. Common mechanical 1×N optical switches belong to this type:

MEMS Optical Switches