JPH0452616A - Waveguide type optical switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To offer a larger-scale MXN optical switch by using one optical switch which is more reduced in size by inserting a movable plate into a slit formed at an intersection part of waveguides. CONSTITUTION:The waveguide type optical switch 1 is constituted by making >=2 waveguides 2 cross each other and slits 3 are formed at intersection parts; and movable plates 11 are inserted into the slits freely movably and moving means for the movable plates 1 are provided nearby the slits 3. Each movable plate 11 consists of a light reflection part 11a which has a light reflecting surface formed on a half surface of a glass plate as a substrate and a light transmission part 11b having a light transmission surface formed on the other half surface, and is moved by supplying a current to an electromagnet 21. Therefore, the movable plate 11 which is inserted into the slit is moved properly to output incident light beam from plural input ports from desired output ports among plural output ports. Consequently, the MXN large-scale matrix optical switch is composed of the one optical switch.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a waveguide type optical switch used in optical communication, optical information processing, etc.

(Prior art) Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B show 2 constructed using the conventional technology.
An example of a human-powered 2-output (2×2) optical switch is shown.

The output light from the optical fiber 51 passes through the collimating lens 52.
The beam is made into parallel light and focused at its end face. This output light then enters a movable prism 54 that includes a total reflection surface 53. This output light is switched between two states shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B depending on the position of the movable prism 54 (indicated by broken line arrows in the drawings). Note that 55 is a collimating lens on the output side, and 56 is an optical fiber on the output side.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional optical switch configured as described above, M inputs and N outputs (M and N represent integers of 2 or more), especially M inputs and N outputs where the numbers of M and N are large. Practical implementation of a large-scale matrix optical switch (hereinafter referred to as "rMxN") is difficult due to the following points.

First, there are many locations that require precise alignment, and the distance between the optical fibers on the input and output sides is large (several mm to several cm), making alignment difficult. There is also the problem that there are difficulties. Next, if an attempt is made to realize a large-scale matrix, a large number of optical switches will be required, resulting in the problem of an increase in the size of the entire device. Furthermore, since the number of component parts increases, the device becomes complicated and handling becomes complicated.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems and provide a larger scale MXN optical switch using a smaller optical switch.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a waveguide type optical switch formed by intersecting two or more waveguides, in which at least one waveguide is formed at the intersection of the waveguides. a slit with a depth and length that allows complete separation of the core layer; a movable plate that is movably inserted inside the slit and has a light reflecting surface with an area exceeding at least the cross-sectional area of the core layer itself;
The present invention provides a waveguide type optical switch characterized by comprising a means for moving the movable plate.

(Function) In the waveguide type optical switch of the present invention, a movable plate is inserted into a slit formed at the intersection of two or more waveguides, and the movable plate has a light reflecting portion.

Further, the waveguide type optical switch of the present invention is equipped with a moving means for moving the movable plate, and the moving means can move the movable plate so that the light reflecting section faces the core layer of the waveguide.

By moving the movable plate in this way, the light incident on the waveguide from the - input port is freely reflected or transmitted, and this reflected light or transmitted light is directed to the desired output of the plurality of output ports. It can be output from the port.

(Example) Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a waveguide type optical switch 1 is formed by two or more waveguides 2 intersecting each other, and a slit 3 is formed at the intersection of the two, and a movable plate (not shown) is formed in the slit 3. is inserted movably, and furthermore, a movable plate moving means (not shown) is provided near the slit 3.

Note that 4 is an optical fiber connected to the waveguide 2.

The waveguide 2 is a well-known one, and consists of a lower cladding layer, a core layer, and an upper cladding layer formed on a substrate.

The slit 3 is formed at the intersection of the waveguide 2 so as to separate at least the core layer 5 of the waveguide 2 . That is, the slit 3 has a length that exceeds at least the width of the core layer 5, as shown in FIG. 2A, and a depth that exceeds at least the depth at which the core layer 5 is formed, as shown in FIG. 2B. is formed. In FIG. 2B, 6 is the lower and upper cladding layers.

A movable plate 11 (not shown) is movably inserted into the slit 3. The movable plate 11 is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.
As shown in the figure, it consists of a light reflecting section 11a having a light reflecting surface formed on one half of a glass plate serving as a substrate, and a light transmitting section 11b having a light transmitting surface formed on the other half. . Note that this movable plate 11 is a light reflecting surface (light reflecting part).
It can also be formed from only.

The light reflecting surface of the light reflecting portion 11a and the light transmitting surface of the light transmitting portion 11b of the movable plate 11 both have an area exceeding the cross-sectional area of the core layer 5 itself in the width direction. The light-reflecting surface is a hatched surface in FIGS. 3A and 3B, and the light-transmitting surface is a surface on the same plane adjacent to the light-reflecting surface (the unpatterned surface in the figures). Further, the thickness of the movable plate IX is set smaller than the interval between the slits 3.

The movable plate 11 can be obtained by depositing metal chromium or the like on a portion of one or both surfaces of a glass plate to form a light reflecting part 11a, and making the remaining part a light transmitting part 11b.

Moreover, the movable plate 11 is one in which the reflection characteristic of the light reflecting portion 11a has a wavelength characteristic, for example, the wavelength λ! It can also be made to have such a property that light of wavelength λ2 is reflected and light of wavelength λ2 is transmitted.

The configuration of the means for moving the movable plate 11 within the slit 3 is not particularly limited, and includes an electromagnet 21 as shown in FIG.
It can be formed from a magnetic material 22 such as e, Ni, etc., and a stopper 23 attached so as to close at least the upper opening of the slit 3. As a means for moving the movable plate 11, mechanical means can also be used in addition to such electric means.

To show an example of the dimensional relationship of each member in the waveguide type optical switch 1 of the present invention, the waveguide 2 has a rectangular cross section and a width of 100 μm.
m1 length is 70 μm, slit 3 is 140 μm long,
The movable plate 11 has a depth of 60 μm and an interval of 30 μm, and the movable plate 11 has a long side of 300 μm, a short side of 40 μm, and a thickness of 29 μm (the thickness of the light reflecting part is 0.5 μm).

Next, the operation of the waveguide type optical switch l of the present invention will be explained. The movable plate 11 shown in FIG. 3A was used.

The movable plate 11 was inserted into the slit 3 at the intersection of the waveguides 2 shown in FIG. 2A as shown in FIG. 4. In this case, since the area of the light transmitting surface of the light transmitting portion 11b is set larger than the cross-sectional area in the width direction of the core layer 5 itself as described above, the light incident from the input port X is transmitted to the movable plate 11. The light passes through the light transmitting section 11b, goes straight, and is output from the output port Y.

Moreover, in such a case, the movable plate 11 may be moved and removed from the slit 3.

Next, when a current is applied to the electromagnet 21, the magnetic material 22 laminated on the negative side of the movable plate 11 is bowed upward, so that the movable plate 11 is also attracted upward. The movable plate 11 is held in contact with the stopper 23. As a result, only the light reflecting portion 11a of the movable plate 11 is positioned so as to separate the core layer 5. In this case, since the area of the light reflecting surface of the light reflecting portion 11a is set larger than the cross-sectional area in the width direction of the core layer 5 itself, as described above,
Light incident from the input port X is reflected by the light reflecting section 11a and output from the output port Z.

Then, when the energization of the electromagnet 21 is stopped, the movable plate j1 moves away from the stopper 23 and is located at the bottom of the slit 3,
Only the light transmitting portion 11b faces the core layer 5. In this case, light will be input and output in the same manner as above.

In addition, when the movable plate 11 shown in FIG. 3B is used, the movable plate 11 may be moved in parallel within the slit 3. Furthermore, if a movable plate 11 consisting of only a light reflecting surface is used, the movable plate 11 may be removed from the slit 3 when transmitting the incident light.

Waveguide 2 constituting the waveguide optical switch I shown in FIG.
By performing the above-described operation at all of the intersections, it is possible to output the light incident from the plurality of input ports to a desired output port among the plurality of output ports.

(Effects of the Invention) The waveguide optical switch of the present invention is a waveguide optical switch formed by intersecting two or more waveguides, in which at least the core layer of the waveguide formed at the intersection of the waveguides is completely removed. a slit of such depth and length that the core layer can be separated, a movable plate that is movably inserted into the slit and has a light reflecting surface with an area exceeding at least a cross-sectional area of the core layer itself, and a means for moving the movable plate. The configuration includes the following.

In the waveguide optical switch of the present invention, incident light from a plurality of input ports is outputted from a desired output port among a plurality of output ports by appropriately moving a movable plate inserted into a slit. be able to. For this purpose, an MXN large-scale matrix optical switch can be constructed using the - optical switches.

Further, by imparting wavelength characteristics to the light reflecting portion 11a of the movable plate 11, it is possible to create an optical switch that operates only for a specific wavelength.

Furthermore, since the optical fiber is connected to the core layer of each waveguide, precise center alignment is not required, and the area outside the waveguide can be made as small as several tens of micrometers or less, resulting in high thermal and mechanical stability. Become.

Furthermore, since a plurality of optical switches are not required, the entire device can be made smaller and the configuration can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of a waveguide type optical switch of the present invention, Fig. 2A is a partially enlarged perspective view of Fig. 1, Fig. 2B is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ of Fig. 2A, and Fig. 3A. is a perspective view of the movable plate,
3B is a perspective view of the movable plate, FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the waveguide type optical switch of the present invention, FIG. 5A is a plan view of a conventional optical switch, and FIG. 5B is a plan view of a conventional optical switch. It is. 1... Waveguide type optical switch, 2... Waveguide, 3...
・Slit, 4... Optical fiber, 5... Core layer, 6
...Clad layer, 11...Movable plate, lla...Light reflection part, llb...Light transmission part, llc...Magnetic laminated part, 21...Electromagnet, 22...Magnetic material , 23...
・Stopper.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a waveguide type optical switch formed by intersecting two or more waveguides, a slit is formed at the intersection of the waveguides and has a depth and length such that at least the core layer of the waveguide can be completely separated; A waveguide type optical switch comprising: a movable plate that is movably inserted into a slit and has a light reflecting surface with an area exceeding at least a cross-sectional area of the core layer itself; and means for moving the movable plate.