Free-space micromachined optical switches for optical networking

摘要

Fiber-optic switches with high port count have emerged as leadingncandidates for deployment in future optical transport networks, wherenrestoration and provisioning in the optical layer will becomenincreasingly important. This paper reviews the principle and performancenof free-space micromachined optical switches (FS-MOS) featuringnfree-rotating hinged micromirrors. A single-chip FS-MOS that implementsnthe critical function of bridging-essential for restoration in corenoptical networks is also proposed and demonstrated. The scalability ofnFS-MOS devices, and the dependence of their insertion losses onnmirror-angle, are estimated theoretically. Simulation results suggestnthat the FS-MOS approach holds considerable promise for being expandablento the port-count values that will be needed in future core-transportnlightwave networks