Key devices of large data networks in the future-Optical Switches

Optical SwitchIt ensures network reliability and provides a flexible signal routing platform. Although circuit switching is used in existing communication systems, in the future, all-optical networks require the pure optical switch system to complete the signal routing function to achieve high network speed and Protocol transparency.

One of the basic functions of optical switches for optical switches in traditional application communication networks is to automatically restore the optical fiber when the optical fiber breaks or switches to a fault. Most modern optical fiber networks have more than two optical fiber route connections. to the key node. Optical Signals of optical switches can be used to avoid faulty optical fiber cables or switches and select valid routes to reach the destination. However, it is very important to avoid information loss when the signal is re-routed. The exchange rate is particularly important in technical and High-Speed Telecom systems.

Another traditional application of optical switches is network monitoring. On the remote optical fiber test point, you can use a 1 * N switch to connect multiple optical fibers to an OTDR ). Monitors Optical Fiber Links. Vswitches and OTDR can be used to accurately locate faults on each fiber link. In the actual transmission network, the switch also allows the user to take out the signal or draw a network analyzer for elbow monitoring without interfering with network data transmission.

Optical switches can also be used for field testing of Optical Fiber devices. For example, a multi-channel switch is a powerful tool for testing Optical Fiber devices in the city. By monitoring each vswitch channel that corresponds to a specific test parameter, You can continuously test multiple components.

Recently, optical switches have been applied to optical fiber sensor networks.

Photoelectric and optical machinery Switch

Although there are many types of commercial optical and optical devices, their photoelectric and optical mechanical models are very similar to each other. A photoelectric switch contains a waveguide containing a photoelectric crystal material such as lithium and Nb. A vswitch usually has two waveguide links at the input and output ends, and two waveguide links constitute the Mach-Zehnder Interference structure. This structure can implement 1 * Z and 2*2 switching configurations. The phase difference between the two channels is controlled by the voltage applied on the channels. When the driving voltage on the path changes the two-way. When you ask about the phase difference, you can use the step effect to send the signal to the destination output end.

Recently, waveguide switches using barium and titanium materials have been developed successfully. These switches use the phase Yang technique. Compared with a lithium-Nb switch, this new switch uses a very small amount of drive power.

The primary advantage of a photoelectric switch is that it has a fast switching speed and can reach the native level. However, the interference loss of these vswitches is serious depending on polarization loss and Crosstalk. They are sensitive to electrical drift and usually require high operating voltage. This high production cost limits the wide commercial application of photoelectric switches.

Optical mechanical switches rely on mature optical technology and are currently the most common switches. Its operation principle is very simple. In a switch, light is guided or reflected to the output optical fiber through a mobile Optical Fiber terminal or Prism, thus realizing the mechanical exchange of the input optical signal. The optical mechanical switch can only achieve millisecond-level switching speed, but it is widely used because of its low cost, simple design and good optical performance.

The optical mechanical switch is most suitable for 1*2 and 2*2 configurations. You can easily build a small-scale matrix of non-blocking M * N optical switches. By using multi-level configuration, you can also implement large-scale, for example, 64*64) local blocking switches. However, it is difficult to implement large-scale, non-blocking matrix switches due to the complexity and the number of mobile mechanical components.