JPH11223778A - Optical switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption without using liquid as a means for reflecting a light. SOLUTION: This optical switch is provided with plural 2 input and 2 output type optical switch elements 100 connected under various connection conditions like an M line and N column (M and N are integers which are 2 or more) matrix, plural input ports, and plural output ports. The optical switch element 100 is provided with a magnetic field control part 10 for switching a magnetic pole, and maintaining a magnetic field to be constant when prescribed currents are supplied in a short time, mirror driving part 20 for inputting and outputting a mirror 22a to and from an optical path by the magnetic field control part 10, and optical path switching part 30 for switching the optical path by inputting and outputting the mirror driving part 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical device comprising a plurality of 2-input 2-output optical switch elements connected in a matrix of M rows and N columns (M and N are integers of 2 or more). About the switch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of optical switch has been disclosed in Reference 1 (IEICE Transactions in Communication Vol. E7).
7-B, P. 197. February 1994) and Reference 2 (Photonic Study Group PS97-10 September 1997), respectively. As is clear from Reference Documents 1 and 2, the conventional optical switch has a configuration in which the surface of a mercury droplet or an oil droplet is used as a reflection surface and is moved by static electricity or air pressure to perform a switching operation.

[0003]

However, in this type of optical switch, since a liquid is used as a reflection medium, there is a problem of deterioration due to evaporation or deterioration of the liquid. In the case of mercury, the surface may become rough due to deterioration due to deterioration and the like in addition to evaporation, and the mercury may not be used as a reflecting surface. Also, in the case of oil droplets, the viscosity increases due to deterioration due to evaporation, deterioration, and the like, and the refractive index changes so that the oil droplets cannot be used as a reflecting surface in some cases. In addition, static electricity, air pressure, and the like, which have been used as a means for moving these liquids, require a current to always flow through a heater, a pressurizer, or the like, and have a problem of large power consumption.

Therefore, there has been a demand for an optical switch which does not use a liquid as a means for reflecting light and consumes less power.

[0005]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention is arranged in a matrix of M rows and N columns (M and N are integers of 2 or more). A plurality of two-input two-output optical switch elements, a plurality of input ports, and a plurality of output ports, and a light signal input from the input ports is guided to the output ports by the optical switch elements. In the optical switch described above, the optical switch element can switch the magnetic pole by current excitation, and a magnetic field control unit that keeps the strength and direction of the magnetic field caused by the switched magnetic pole constant, and moves the mirror into and out of the optical path by the magnetic field. A mirror driving unit;
An optical path switching unit that switches a propagation optical path of an optical signal by moving a mirror in and out.

According to the configuration of the present invention described above, the magnetic field control section generates a magnetic field by current excitation and maintains the strength (referred to as magnetic force) and direction of the magnetic field.
Due to the generation of this magnetic field, the mirror driving unit is attracted or reflected by the magnetic field control unit, and moves the mirror in and out of the optical path. When the mirror enters the optical path and is maintained in that state, the optical signal is reflected by the mirror and the optical path is switched. On the other hand, when a magnetic field in the opposite direction is generated and maintained, the mirror is pulled out of the optical path, and the optical path is switched from a state where the optical signal is reflected to a state where the optical signal goes straight. As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, if a current is supplied to the magnetic field control unit for a short time that can generate a magnetic field (strength and direction) for moving the mirror in and out of the optical path, the generated magnetic field can be reduced. Since the current is maintained even if the current does not continue to flow, power consumption is greatly reduced as compared with the conventional optical switch. Further, according to the present invention, since the mirror is moved in and out of the optical path so as to direct or reflect the optical signal, it is not necessary to use a liquid light reflecting means such as mercury or oil droplet as in the related art.

In practicing the present invention, the magnetic field control section includes a magnetic field generation section for generating a magnetic field with a current, and a current control section for supplying a forward or reverse current as a single pulse current to the magnetic field generation section. And a magnetic field holding unit for self-holding a magnetic field, and the mirror driving unit includes one magnetic pole at an end facing the magnetic field holding unit, and a mirror magnetic pole unit on which a mirror is mounted. And a mirror drive guide section for restricting the mirror to vertical movement. The optical path switching section includes a first optical waveguide and a second optical waveguide provided to intersect the first optical waveguide. The first and second optical waveguides are provided across the first and second optical waveguides in a region where the first and second optical waveguides intersect so that the optical signal can be transferred from one optical waveguide to the other optical waveguide by reflection at a mirror. Koshin It is preferred that that comprises a modified space put.

With this configuration, the current is supplied to the magnetic field generating unit for a short time by the current control unit, so that the power consumption required for switching the optical switch can be reduced. In addition, since the magnetic pole at the end can respond to the strength and direction of the magnetic field generated from the magnetic field holding part, the mirror magnetic pole part can be moved to the space part along the guide part or pulled out from the space part, so that the response is fast and reliable. Optical path switching becomes possible.

In practicing the present invention, preferably, the optical signal transfer space portion is located immediately below the mirror driving guide portion. When the optical signal passing through the optical waveguide is reflected by the mirror and transferred to the second optical waveguide, and when the mirror is outside the optical path, the optical signal passing through the first optical waveguide traverses the space and passes through the first optical waveguide. Is preferably propagated.

[0010] With this configuration, a magnetic field line is generated by applying a forward or reverse current to the electromagnet for a short time only when the optical switch is switched. The magnetic body can hold the magnetic field by itself. Therefore, it is possible to cause the optical switch element to perform a switching operation by attracting or repelling the mirror magnetic pole portion to the magnetic field of the magnetic field holding portion. Therefore, an optical switch can be configured without using a liquid light reflecting means as in the related art. Further, the power consumption is significantly smaller than that of the conventional optical switch.

In practicing the present invention, the mirror magnetic pole portion has a long plate-like rectangular parallelepiped, a mirror is mounted on one side of the rectangular parallelepiped, and an N pole is arranged on one of the upper and lower surfaces. It is preferably a permanent magnet having an S pole on the other surface.

According to this structure, the permanent magnet with the mirror mounted thereon can be driven by an attraction force or a repulsion force due to a change in the line of magnetic force to move the mirror into and out of the optical path.

In practicing the present invention, the permanent magnet is preferably made of a samarium cobalt (SmCo) material.

By using this magnetic material, a permanent magnet of the mirror magnetic pole can be formed.

In practicing the present invention, the magnetic field generating portion is preferably an electromagnet formed by winding a conductive wire in a coil shape around an iron core.

By using such an electromagnet, a magnetic field generating section of the optical switch according to the present invention can be constituted.

In practicing the present invention, when a magnetic field in one direction is once generated in the magnetic field holding unit,
Next, it is preferable to use a ferromagnetic material that keeps its magnetic pole characteristics constant until a magnetic field in the opposite direction is generated therein.

According to this structure, the switching operation can be maintained in a non-energized state since the ferromagnetic material keeps the magnetic field constant even when the supply of the current to the electromagnet is stopped. Therefore, it is sufficient to supply a current to the electromagnet only when the magnetic pole of the ferromagnetic material is reversed, so that an optical switch with low power consumption can be realized.

In practicing the present invention, the ferromagnetic material is preferably made of an alloy of iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni).

By using such a material, a desired ferromagnetic material can be obtained.

In practicing the present invention, preferably, the mirror driving guide portion is a through hole formed in the mirror holding substrate.

According to this structure, the mirror of the magnetic pole portion is supported by the mirror driving guide portion so as to be able to move forward and backward so as not to rattle. Thus, the mirror can be kept parallel. In this case, since the backlash of the mirror can be suppressed, the optical signal input to the first input port can be correctly transferred to the second output port.

In practicing the present invention, preferably, the exit end face and the entrance end face of each of the first and second optical waveguides with respect to the optical signal transfer space portion are respectively provided with the light of each of the first and second optical waveguides. When the plane orthogonal to the axis is each reference plane, the exit end face or the entrance end face is
It is preferable that the reflection return light from the emission and incidence end faces be provided at an inclination angle with respect to the reference plane so as to escape outside the optical paths of the first and second optical waveguides.

According to this structure, the return light generated by the reflection of the optical signal at the incident end face and the emission end face can be released to the outside of the optical waveguide, so that the crosstalk due to the return light can be prevented.

In practicing the present invention, the inclination angle is preferably 6 degrees or more and smaller than the minimum angle at which the incident optical signal causes total reflection.

By forming the emission end face and the incidence end face of the first optical waveguide and the emission end face and the incidence end face of the second optical waveguide at this inclination angle, the return light can more effectively escape out of the optical waveguide. Can be. Note that the upper limit of the tilt angle is set to an angle smaller than the minimum angle at which incident light causes total reflection, because all the incident optical signals are reflected light, that is, all the optical signals escape to the outside of the optical waveguide when they are returned light. This is because the optical switch does not function as an optical switch.

In practicing the present invention, each of the optical switch elements is optically coupled to an optical switch element shifted by one row and one column, and each of the optical switch elements in the first and last rows is Optically coupled in the order of arrangement, the first
Preferably, each of the optical switch elements of the row is optically coupled to a corresponding input port and a corresponding output port, respectively.

By connecting the optical switch elements in this way,
An optical switch can be configured.

[0029]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the size, shape, and arrangement of each component are only schematically shown to an extent that the present invention can be understood, and numerical conditions described below are merely examples. Please understand that.

An embodiment of the optical switch according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of an optical switch element constituting an optical switch according to the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part for describing the structure and operation of the optical switching unit of the optical switch element. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the optical switch element. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a state in which the optical switch elements are arranged in a matrix and an operation thereof.

The optical switch 200 according to the present invention includes a plurality of 2-input 2-output optical switch elements 100 arranged in a matrix of M rows and N columns (M and N are integers of 2 or more). Input ports 210a to 210d and a plurality of output ports 220a to 220d. The optical switch according to the present invention has a configuration in which an optical signal input from any input port is guided to any output port via an optical waveguide specified by the optical switch element and output from the optical switch. Has become. As an example, an optical switch having a structure in which optical switch elements 100 are arranged as a matrix of 4 rows and 4 columns as shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

In the configuration of the present invention, the optical switch element 10
0 includes a magnetic field control unit 10, a mirror driving unit 20, and an optical path switching unit 30.

Hereinafter, the magnetic field control unit 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

The magnetic field control unit 10 can switch the magnetic poles by current excitation, and keeps the strength and direction of the magnetic poles caused by the switched magnetic poles constant. The magnetic field control unit 10 includes a magnetic field generation unit 12, a current control unit 14, and a magnetic field holding unit 16. The magnetic field generating unit 12 is configured to generate a magnetic field by a current. Further, the current control unit 14 controls so that a forward or reverse current flows through the magnetic field generating unit 12 for a short time. Therefore, the current control unit 14 preferably outputs a positive or negative pulse current in the form of a single pulse. The waveform of this pulse is preferably rectangular, and the intensity and duration of this pulse are determined by the strength of the magnetic field held by the magnetic field holding unit 16, that is, the magnetic field capable of attracting the mirror driving unit described later. Strength and duration that can be generated from This duration is preferably as short as possible in terms of power consumption. The magnetic field holding unit 16 self-holds the strength and direction of the magnetic field constantly. For this reason, the magnetic field control unit 10 generates a new magnetic pole by exciting the magnetic field with a current having a predetermined magnitude and a short time according to the design, or switches the magnetic pole, and maintains a constant magnetic field caused by this magnetic pole. can do.

Here, the magnetic field generating section 12 is preferably an electromagnet 12 formed by winding an appropriate conductive wire such as an enameled wire 12b in a coil shape around an iron core 12a. Further, it is preferable that the current control unit 14 be configured as, for example, a pulse current control circuit 14 that controls the forward or backward pulsed current to flow only one pulse. With this configuration, a magnetic field can be generated by passing only one pulse of a forward or reverse pulsed current through the electromagnet. That is, it is possible to generate magnetic force lines in the electromagnet for an instant.

Preferably, once the magnetic field lines of, for example, the S pole or the N pole are formed in the magnetic field holding unit 16, the magnetic field lines in the direction opposite to the magnetic field lines are formed therein. The ferromagnetic material 16 which maintains the magnetic pole characteristics at a constant level until the magnetic pole characteristics are maintained. In this case, the ferromagnetic material 16
Is made of, for example, an alloy of iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni). With this configuration, even when the supply of current to the electromagnet 12 is stopped, the ferromagnetic material 16 keeps the magnetic field constant and self-habitually. Thereby, it can be maintained in a non-energized state. Therefore, only when the switching of the optical path is to be performed, the switching can be performed by inverting the magnetic pole of the ferromagnetic body 16 and flowing the current to the electromagnet 12, so that the optical switch 200 with low power consumption can be realized. It becomes possible.

Next, the mirror driving section will be described with reference to FIG.

The mirror driving section 20 has a function of moving the mirror into and out of the optical path by the magnetic field control section 10. In this case, the mirror driving section 20 includes a mirror 22a, a mirror magnetic pole section 22b, and a mirror driving guide section 24a. The mirror magnetic pole part 22b is formed so that the mirror 22a is mounted and one of the N pole and the S pole is located on the upper end surface side facing the magnetic field holding part 16. Further, the mirror drive guide portion 24a has a function of moving the mirror magnetic pole portion 22b straight up and down without rotating or tilting.

In a preferred configuration example, the mirror magnetic pole portion 2
2b is constituted by the permanent magnet 22b. In that case, it is preferable that the shape of the permanent magnet 22b be a rectangular parallelepiped having a long plate shape.
Then, a mirror 22a is mounted on one side surface of the rectangular parallelepiped. As an example, an N pole is provided at the upper end of a rectangular parallelepiped,
An S pole is provided at the lower end. In addition, this mirror 22a
It may be formed on one side surface of the mirror magnetic pole portion 22b by vapor deposition, or a plate-like mirror 22a may be attached to one side surface of the mirror magnetic pole portion 22b. As a method of attaching the plate-like mirror 22a to the mirror magnetic pole portion 22b, for example, the plate-like mirror 22a may be attached to the lower end of the mirror magnetic pole portion 22b like a screen. Further, a small mirror magnetic pole portion, for example, a small permanent magnet may be attached to the upper end of the mirror 22a itself.

The mirror drive guide portion 24a is a guide through hole 24a formed in the mirror holding substrate 24.
The through hole 24a restricts the movement of the mirror magnetic pole portion 22b so as to move the mirror 22a up and down in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical waveguide.

With this configuration, the mirror 22a of the mirror magnetic pole portion 22b is not moved, tilted or rotated by the mirror driving guide portion 24a, and the mirror 22a is moved vertically and I can support it. Therefore, the mirror 22a can be inserted into the optical waveguide with good reproducibility, so that the first optical waveguide 3
The optical signal input to the second first input port 32a can be transferred to the second optical waveguide 34 with good reproducibility, and this optical signal can be guided to the second output port 34b.

As described above, the permanent magnet 22b on which the mirror 22a is mounted is driven by the attraction force or the repulsion force due to the change in the magnetic field lines, and can move the mirror 22a into and out of the optical path. Here, the permanent magnet 22b is preferably made of, for example, a samarium cobalt (SmCo) material.

Next, the optical path switching section 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical path switching section 30 includes a first optical waveguide 32 and a second optical waveguide 3.
4 and an optical signal transfer space section 36. In this configuration example, the optical path switching unit 30 is formed on an optical waveguide substrate 38 made of silicon. In particular, the first optical waveguide 32 and the second optical waveguide 34 are formed by ion implantation into a silicon optical waveguide substrate 38.

The first optical waveguide 32 is connected to the first input port 32
a and the first output port 32b at both ends. Further, the second optical waveguide 34 crosses the first optical waveguide 32, and the second input port 34a and the second output port 3
4b at both ends.

The optical signal transfer space section 36 is provided with first and second optical waveguides 32 and 32 so that an optical signal can be transferred from one optical waveguide 32 to the other optical waveguide 34 by total reflection of the mirror 22a. 34 intersecting area 38a
It is provided in.

The optical signal transfer space 36 is a groove formed in the optical waveguide substrate 38. This groove is the first
And the intersecting region 38 of the second optical waveguides 32 and 34
a is provided across these optical waveguides. This groove has a structure in which the mirror 22a of the mirror magnetic pole portion can be inserted and held in this groove. In this configuration example, the optical waveguide substrate 38 is laminated on the silicon base substrate 40, but is not limited to this configuration.

The operation of the optical path switching unit will be described below.

When the mirror 22a is outside the optical path, the first
The optical signal input from the first input port 32a of the optical waveguide 32 passes through the space 36 from the first optical waveguide 32, passes through the portion of the first optical waveguide 32 in the direction in which the optical signal travels straight, and has its first output port. Injected from 32b. Meanwhile, mirror 2
When the optical signal 2a is located at a position for reflecting the optical signal, the optical signal input from the first input port 32a of the first optical waveguide 32 is reflected from the first optical waveguide 32 by the mirror 22a in the space 36, The second is arranged in the signal reflection direction.
The optical waveguide 34 is switched to the second
It is emitted from the output port 34b.

As described above, the optical signal transfer space section 36 is an area in which the optical path in which the optical signal propagates is switched by reflecting the optical signal or making it go straight.

By providing such a space 36, the second output port of the second optical waveguide 34 is reflected in the direction of reflection of the optical signal input to the first input port 32a of the first optical waveguide 32 by the mirror 22a. Since the optical switch element can be configured so as to dispose the optical signal 34b, the optical signal can be reliably transferred from the first optical waveguide 32 to the second optical waveguide 34 with good reproducibility.

Next, the operation of the optical switch element 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

As shown in FIG. 3A, a pulse current I1 (for example, a rectangular-wave current that supplies a current of 100 mA for 10 microseconds) is supplied to the electromagnet 12 from the current control unit 14 in the forward direction. Then, magnetic lines of force having, for example, an N pole at the lower end and an S pole at the upper end are generated in the electromagnet 12 for a moment. The ferromagnetic body 16 receives the magnetic field lines and magnetizes to the same magnetic pole characteristics as the electromagnet 12. Then, the mirror magnetic pole part 22b
Since the upper end of the permanent magnet is an N pole and the lower end is an S pole, the mirror pole 22b is urged downward by receiving a repulsive force from the N pole magnetized at the lower end of the ferromagnetic body 16. On the other hand, the magnetic lines of force from the electromagnet 12 disappear in a moment. However, the magnetic pole of the ferromagnetic material 16 is kept constant by the self-holding property of the magnetic field. Therefore, the mirror magnetic pole part 22b is positioned below. When the mirror magnetic pole portion 22b is located below, the optical signal L1 incident on the first optical waveguide 32 is
As shown in FIG. 3A, the light is reflected by the mirror 22a. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the optical signal L1 emitted from the first emission end face 32c is reflected by the mirror 22a and, like the optical signal L3 in FIG.
4 is incident on the second incident end face 34d. At this time, the first exit end face 32c and the second incidence end face 34d have an angle of 6 degrees or more when the plane S perpendicular to the optical axis is set as a reference plane, and smaller than the minimum angle at which the incident optical signal causes total reflection. Therefore, the return light L <b> 4 escapes outside the first optical waveguide 32. Note that the upper limit of the tilt angle is set to an angle smaller than the minimum angle at which incident light causes total reflection, because all the incident optical signals are reflected light, that is, all the optical signals escape to the outside of the optical waveguide when they are returned light. This is because the optical switch does not function as an optical switch.

Next, as shown in FIG.
2, a pulse current I2 having the same waveform in the opposite direction to the pulse current I1 is supplied from the current control unit 14. Then, contrary to the case shown above, the lower end of the electromagnet 12
A magnetic field line having a pole and an N pole at the upper end is generated for a moment for a moment. Then, similarly to the case described above, the lower end of the ferromagnetic material 16 is magnetized to the S pole and the upper end is magnetized to the N pole. In this case, since the upper end of the permanent magnet of the mirror magnetic pole portion 22b has the N pole, it is attracted to the ferromagnetic body 16. Therefore, in this way, the mirror 22
When a is located above, the optical signal L1 input to the first input port 32a of the first optical waveguide 32 is
2c without being reflected by the mirror 22a.
The light is incident on the incident end face 32d. Also in this case, the first incident end face 32d is inclined by the inclination angle θ when the vertical plane S of the incident optical axis is used as the reference plane, so that the return light L5 is transmitted to the first optical waveguide 32 as shown in FIG. Escaped outside.

The optical switch element operates as described above. Therefore, according to the configuration example of the optical switch of the present invention described above, only when the optical switch element 100 is switched,
If a current in the forward or reverse direction is applied to the electromagnet 12 for a short period of time to generate lines of magnetic force, the ferromagnetic body 16 can maintain the magnetic field even when the magnetic field of the electromagnet 12 is released.
Therefore, the optical switch element 100 can perform the switching operation by attracting or repelling the mirror magnetic pole portion 22b by the magnetic field of the magnetic field holding portion 16. Therefore, an optical switch can be configured without using a liquid light reflecting means as in the related art. Further, the power consumption is significantly smaller than that of the conventional optical switch.

Next, a method for preventing return light of the optical switch element 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, the optical signal transfer space section 36
Consider two interfaces between the first optical waveguide 32 and the first optical waveguide 32. One boundary surface on which the optical signal is incident from the first optical waveguide 32 to the space portion 36 is a first emission end surface 32c, and the other boundary surface on which the optical signal is re-entered from the space portion 36 to the first optical waveguide 32 is a first boundary surface. It is assumed that the incident end face 32d. Similarly, one boundary surface between the space 36 and the second optical waveguide 34 is connected to the second exit end surface 34c.
And the other boundary surface is a second incident end surface 34d. Also,
At each boundary, a plane orthogonal to the optical axis of the optical waveguide is defined as a reference plane S. In this case, the first exit end face 32c and the first entrance end face 32d of the first optical waveguide 32 and the second exit end face 34c and the second entrance end face 34d of the second optical waveguide 34 are inclined at an angle θ with respect to the reference plane S. is there. In this case, the first exit end face 32c, the first entrance end face 32d, and the second entrance end face 3
4d is return light L4, L4 due to reflection from the first exit end face 32c, the first entrance end face 32d, or the second entrance end face 34d.
5 out of the first and second optical waveguides 32 and 34. In this case, the inclination angle θ is preferably about 8 degrees, for example, from experience.

With this configuration, the first signal of the optical signal L1
The return light L4 or L5 generated by the reflection at the emission end face 32c, the first incidence end face 32d, and the second incidence end face 34d can escape to the outside of the first optical waveguide 32 and the second optical waveguide 34. Crosstalk due to L4 or L5 can be prevented.

Next, a configuration example of the optical switch 200 in which the optical switch elements 100 are arranged in a matrix will be described with reference to FIG.

According to the configuration example shown in FIG. 4, each of the optical switch elements 100aa to 100ad is optically coupled to the optical switch elements 100aa to 100ad shifted by one row and one column. Each of the optical switch elements 100aa, 100ba, 100bc, 100dc and 100dd, 100cd, 100cb, 100ad in the first and last rows are optically coupled in the order of arrangement. First row of optical switch elements 100aa, 100bb, 100cc, 1
00dd each have a corresponding input port 210a, 21
0b, 210c, 210d and corresponding output port 2
20a, 220b, 220c, and 220d, respectively, are optically coupled. In addition, 4a-4d and 5a-5
d is a dummy port.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, an optical switch 20 in which the above-described optical switch elements 100 are arranged in a matrix will be described.
The operation of 0 will be described. In FIG. 4, among the circular figures showing the optical switch elements 100aa to 100ad, those having vertical lines show the state of FIG. 3A, and those having no vertical lines show those in FIG. The state of B) is shown. That is, in the case of FIG. 4, the optical switch element 100b
b, 100ac, 100da, and 100cd indicate optical switch elements in a state of reflecting an optical signal.

In FIG. 4, for example, the input port 210
When an optical signal is input to the optical switch element 100aa
, And then reflected by the optical switch element 100ac, and then passed through the optical switch element 100cc and output from the output port 220c.

For example, when an optical signal is input to the input port 210c, it passes through the optical switch element 100cc, is reflected by the optical switch element 100cd, and then passes through the optical switch element 100dd and is output from the output port 220d. You.

For example, when an optical signal is input to the input port 210d, it passes through the optical switch element 100dd, further passes through the optical switch element 100db, is reflected by the optical switch element 100da, and then is reflected by the optical switch element 100ba. Through the optical switch element 10
0aa and output from the output port 220a.

[0066]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, if the current in the forward or reverse direction is applied to the electromagnet for a short time only when the optical switch is switched, the magnetic field lines are generated, , The ferromagnetic material can maintain the magnetic field by itself. Accordingly, the mirror magnetic pole portion can be attracted or repelled by the magnetic field of the magnetic field holding portion, and can cause the optical switch element to perform a switching operation. Therefore, an optical switch can be configured without using a liquid light reflecting means as in the related art. Further, the power consumption is significantly smaller than that of the conventional optical switch.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of an optical switch element constituting an optical switch of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part for describing a structure and an operation of an optical path switching unit of the optical switch element.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the optical switch element.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a state in which optical switch elements are arranged in a matrix and an operation thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: Magnetic field control unit 12: Magnetic field generation unit 12a: Iron core 12b: Enamel wire 14: Current control unit 16: Magnetic field holding unit 20: Mirror drive unit 22a: Mirror 22b: Mirror magnetic pole unit 24: Mirror holding substrate 24a: Mirror Drive guide section 30: optical path switching section 32: first optical waveguide 32a: first input port 32b: first output port 32c: first exit end face 32d: first incidence end face 34: second optical waveguide 34a: second input port 34b: second output port 34c: second emission end face 34d: second incidence end face 36: optical signal transfer space section 38: substrate for optical waveguide 38a: intersecting region 40: basic substrate 100aa to 100ad: optical switch element 200: Optical switches 210a to 210d: input ports 220a to 220d: output ports L1: optical signal L2: optical signal L1 L3: Reflected light of optical signal L1 L4: Return light of optical signal L1 L5: Return light of optical signal L2

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of 2-input 2-output optical switch elements arranged in a matrix of M rows and N columns (M and N are integers of 2 or more), a plurality of input ports, and a plurality of An optical switch having an output port and guiding an optical signal input from the input port to the output port by the optical switch element, wherein the optical switch element can switch a magnetic pole by current excitation. A magnetic field control unit that keeps the intensity and direction of the magnetic field caused by the switched magnetic pole constant, a mirror driving unit that moves a mirror in and out of the optical path by the magnetic field, and switches a propagation optical path of the optical signal by moving the mirror in and out. An optical switch comprising an optical path switching unit. 2. The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field control unit includes a magnetic field generation unit for generating a magnetic field with a current, and a forward or reverse current applied to the magnetic field generation unit by a single pulse. A current control unit that flows as a current, and a magnetic field holding unit for self-holding the magnetic field, wherein the mirror driving unit includes one magnetic pole at an end facing the magnetic field holding unit, A mirror magnetic pole part on which a mirror is mounted, and a mirror driving guide part for restricting the mirror to vertical movement, wherein the optical path switching part comprises a first optical waveguide, and the first optical waveguide. A second optical waveguide provided to intersect with the first and second optical waveguides so that the optical signal can be transferred from one optical waveguide to the other optical waveguide by reflection at the mirror. Intersecting territories An optical switch, comprising: an optical signal transfer space portion provided in a region across the first and second optical waveguides. 3. The optical switch according to claim 2, wherein the optical signal transfer space is located immediately below the mirror driving guide, and the mirror is inserted into the optical signal transfer space. When the optical signal passing through the first optical waveguide is reflected by the mirror and transferred to the second optical waveguide, and when the mirror is outside the optical path, the optical signal passing through the first optical waveguide is An optical switch configured to propagate through the first optical waveguide across the space. 4. The optical switch according to claim 2, wherein the mirror magnetic pole portion is a rectangular parallelepiped having a long plate shape, and the mirror is mounted on one side surface of the rectangular parallelepiped and one of upper and lower surfaces. An optical switch characterized by being a permanent magnet having an N pole on one surface and an S pole on the other surface. 5. The optical switch according to claim 4, wherein the permanent magnet is made of a samarium cobalt (SmCo) material. 6. The optical switch according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic field generating unit is an electromagnet formed by winding a conductive wire around an iron core in a coil shape. 7. The optical switch according to claim 2, wherein once the magnetic field in one direction is generated inside the magnetic field holding unit, the magnetic field holding unit changes the magnetic pole characteristics until the next magnetic field in the opposite direction is generated therein. An optical switch characterized in that it is a ferromagnetic material that maintains a constant self. 8. The optical switch according to claim 7, wherein said ferromagnetic material is made of an alloy of iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni). 9. The optical switch according to claim 2, wherein the mirror drive guide is a through hole formed in a mirror holding substrate. 10. The optical switch according to claim 3, wherein the first and second optical signals are transferred to the optical signal transfer space.
The exit end face and the entrance end face of the optical waveguide, when the plane orthogonal to the optical axis of each of the first and second optical waveguides as a reference plane, the exit end face or the entrance end face, An optical switch, wherein the optical switch is provided at a certain inclination angle with respect to the reference plane so as to allow reflected return light from the incident end face to escape outside the optical paths of the first and second optical waveguides. 11. The optical switch according to claim 10, wherein the inclination angle is not less than 6 degrees and smaller than a minimum angle at which an incident optical signal causes total reflection. switch. 12. The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein each of the optical switch elements is optically coupled to an optical switch element shifted by one row and one column. And each of the last row of optical switch elements is optically coupled in the order of arrangement, and each of the first column of optical switch elements is optically coupled to a corresponding one of the input ports and a corresponding one of the output ports, respectively. An optical switch, comprising: