Classification of Mechanical Optical Switches

Traditional mechanical optical switches use relays and motors as driving elements. The mechanical properties of relays and motors are used to change the position of optical elements, thereby deflecting the optical path to achieve the purpose of switching.

Mechanical optical switches are mainly divided into: dynamic fiber type, reflection type, transmission type, etc.

>Dynamic fiber optical switches use TEC optical fiber, polish and coat the fiber end face, use relays to lift and drop the movable fiber, and couple it with different fixed fibers to achieve the purpose of switching. It has the advantages of low cost, low insertion loss, and low power consumption. However, due to the reflection of the fiber end face, the return loss index is affected, and there may be rebound phenomenon. The repeatability is not very good and the reliability is poor.

>Reflective optical switches use relays to drive high-reflection coated glass sheets to cut into the optical path to achieve the switching function of reflection and transmission. The principle and structure of this type of switch are relatively simple. As the earliest mechanical optical switch, the technology and process are relatively mature, and all indicators are good. However, due to the sensitivity of reflection coupling, slight displacement of the reflector during switching is prone to poor repeatability.

The transmission optical switch uses a relay to drive a wedge angle or prism to achieve optical path deflection or offset. This type of switch is currently the most widely used and has the advantages of low insertion loss, low repeatability, and low stability-related loss.

>The motor is generally used for optical switches with output ports greater than 16 channels. Since traditional mechanical optical switches are difficult to achieve multi-port output, the cascade solution is cumbersome, high cost, and poor reliability. The motor optical switch generally fixes the input end and couples the collimators at different output ends with the input end by driving the motor. However, due to the working principle of the motor, this type of switch has a high switching delay for non-adjacent channels, and due to the manufacturing process of the motor, this type of switch is high in height, which is not conducive to integration and miniaturization.

Xionghua Photoelectric provides mechanical optical switches, MEMS optical switches, and magneto-optical switches. If you need to customize the optical switch channel, wavelength, and fiber type, please contact our sales representative.