CN113777810A - Magneto-optical switch - Google Patents
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- CN113777810A CN113777810A CN202110915349.8A CN202110915349A CN113777810A CN 113777810 A CN113777810 A CN 113777810A CN 202110915349 A CN202110915349 A CN 202110915349A CN 113777810 A CN113777810 A CN 113777810A
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- G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
- G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
- G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour
- G02F1/09—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour based on magneto-optical elements, e.g. exhibiting Faraday effect
- G02F1/093—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour based on magneto-optical elements, e.g. exhibiting Faraday effect used as non-reciprocal devices, e.g. optical isolators, circulators
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Abstract
The invention discloses a magneto-optical switch, which comprises an input collimator, a first birefringent crystal, an n-stage optical path switching mechanism, a first half-wave plate component, a second birefringent crystal and a second half-wave plate component, wherein the input collimator, the first birefringent crystal, the n-stage optical path switching mechanism, the first half-wave plate component, the second birefringent crystal and the second half-wave plate component are sequentially arranged along a light propagation directionnAn output collimator. The invention uses collimator, double refraction crystal, half wave plate and Faraday rotation crystal to collimate the divergent light of any polarization state inputted by optical fiber into parallel beam by collimator, then the parallel beam is separated into two sub-beams of fixed polarization state by double refraction crystal, then the polarization state of incident light is processed and changed by half wave plate and Faraday rotation crystal, and the light is split by combining double refraction crystal, thus realizing the purpose of optical switch switching.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of optics, in particular to a magneto-optical switch.
Background
Optical switches are used in optical systems to switch optical beams between one input optical fiber and one or more output optical fibers. For example, optical switches are used in optical communication systems to connect and disconnect transmission channels to route information modulated optical beams, to provide network protection, to provide cross-connect, and to add and drop applications. Optical switches can also be used to pulse a light source, such as a laser, or to perform other functions with a modulated or unmodulated light beam.
There are many ways to implement optical switching, including mechanical, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), electro-optical, thermo-optical, Mach-Zehnder interferometry, and magneto-optical.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of the above, the present invention provides a magneto-optical switch, which uses a collimator, a birefringent crystal, a half-wave plate, and a faraday rotator, etc. to collimate a divergent light input from an optical fiber in any polarization state into a parallel light beam by the collimator, then separates the parallel light beam into two sub-light beams in fixed polarization states by the birefringent crystal, processes and changes the polarization state of the incident light by the half-wave plate and the faraday rotator, and combines the birefringent crystal to perform light splitting, thereby achieving the purpose of switching the optical switch.
A magneto-optical switch comprises an input collimator, a first birefringent crystal, an n-stage optical path switching mechanism, a first half-wave plate assembly, a second birefringent crystal and a second half-wave plate assembly which are sequentially arranged along a light propagation directionnN is a positive integer;
the input collimator is used for collimating the divergent light beams output by the input optical fiber into parallel light beams;
the first birefringent crystal is used for decomposing the received parallel light beam into two sub-light beams with orthogonal polarization directions;
the n-stage optical path switching mechanism is used for changing the polarization states of the two sub-beams emitted by the first birefringent crystal and enabling the split beams of the two sub-beams to rotate under the action of forward and/or reverse saturation magnetic fields to pass through the second birefringent crystal from the second stage to the third stagenOne of the beam positions is output;
the first half-wave plate assembly is used for receiving the split light beam emitted by the n-stage light path switching mechanism and changing the polarization state of the split light beam;
the second birefringent crystal is used for coupling the received split light beams into a light beam and transmitting the combined light beam to an output optical fiber from an output collimator corresponding to the position of the emergent light beam.
Preferably, a first faraday rotation crystal is further included between the first half-wave plate assembly and the second birefringent crystal, a controllable magnetic element is mounted on the first faraday rotation crystal, and the first faraday rotation crystal is used for converting the polarization directions of the two split light beams emitted from the first half-wave plate assembly into orthogonal directions.
Preferably, the first faraday rotator is composed of a plurality of sub faraday rotators, so that the split beam exiting the first half-wave plate assembly passes through different sub faraday rotators.
Preferably, the angle of optical rotation of the first faraday rotator is 45 °.
Preferably, the position of the second half-wave plate assembly in each stage of the optical path switching mechanism is interchangeable with the position of the second faraday optically active crystal.
Preferably, each of the n-stage optical path switching mechanisms includes a second half-wave plate assembly, a second Faraday rotator crystal, and a third birefringent crystal,
the second half-wave plate component is used for converting the polarization states of all received light beams into the same polarization state;
the second Faraday rotator is provided with a controllable magnetic element and is used for rotating the polarization directions of all light beams received from the second half-wave plate assembly under the action of a forward or reverse saturated magnetic field;
the third birefringent crystal is used for decomposing the light beam received from the second Faraday rotator crystal into 2 in multiplen+1Splitting the beam and directing the split beam from 2nOne of the beam positions is output in the corresponding beam position.
Preferably, the angle of optical rotation of the second faraday rotator is 45 °.
Preferably, the second faraday rotator consists of a plurality of sub faraday rotators.
Preferably, the third birefringent crystal may be replaced by one or more polarizing beam splitters.
Preferably, the first birefringent crystal and/or the second birefringent crystal may be replaced with one or more polarization beam splitters.
Preferably, the magneto-optical switch is an irreversible optical switch.
The invention has the beneficial effects that:
1. the magneto-optical switch of the invention changes the polarization state of the light beam by utilizing Faraday magneto-optical rotation effect, and then distributes the light beam with different polarization states to different positions by utilizing the birefringent crystal to realize the switching of the light path.
2. The magneto-optical switch of the invention is an irreversible switch, and 3 or 4 or more stages of optical path switching mechanisms can be added between the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism and the first half-wave plate component 123 according to actual requirements so as to realize that one path of optical signal reaches 2nAnd switching the path signals.
Drawings
In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a 1x4 magneto-optical switch.
Fig. 2a is a side view of a 1x4 magneto-optical switch.
Fig. 2b is a top view of a 1x4 magneto-optical switch.
Fig. 3a is one of the right side views of a 1x4 magneto-optical switch.
Fig. 3b is a second right view of the 1x4 magneto-optical switch.
Fig. 3c is a third right view of the 1x4 magneto-optical switch.
Fig. 3d is a third right view of the 1x4 magneto-optical switch.
Fig. 4a is a schematic diagram of the operation of a birefringent crystal.
Fig. 4b is a diagram of the working principle of the polarization beam splitter.
FIG. 5 is a diagram of the working principle of a multi-block birefringent crystal.
Detailed Description
For better understanding of the technical solutions of the present invention, the following detailed descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are provided with reference to the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
In the description of the present application, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance unless explicitly stated or limited otherwise. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.
The present application is described in further detail below with reference to specific embodiments and with reference to the attached drawings.
The invention provides a magneto-optical switch, which utilizes elements such as a collimator, a birefringent crystal, a half-wave plate, a Faraday optical rotation crystal and the like to collimate divergent light input by an optical fiber in any polarization state into parallel beams through the collimator, then the parallel beams are separated into two sub-beams in fixed polarization states through the birefringent crystal, then the polarization state of incident light is processed and changed by the half-wave plate and the Faraday optical rotation crystal, and the birefringent crystal is combined for light splitting, so that the aim of switching the optical switch is fulfilled.
The magneto-optical switch provided by the invention is an irreversible switch.
In a first embodiment, the magneto-optical switch of the present invention comprises an input collimator, a first birefringent crystal, an n-stage optical path switching mechanism, a first half-wave plate assembly, a first faraday rotator, a second birefringent crystal, and 2nAnd the output collimators, wherein n is a positive integer.
The input collimator is used for collimating the divergent light beams output by the input optical fiber into parallel light beams.
The first birefringent crystal is used for decomposing the received parallel light beam into two sub-light beams with orthogonal polarization directions.
The n-stage optical path switching mechanism is used for changing the polarization states of the two sub-beams emitted by the first birefringent crystal and enabling the split beams of the two sub-beams to rotate under the action of forward and/or reverse saturation magnetic fields to pass through the second birefringent crystal from the second stage to the third stagenOne of the beam positions is output.
The first half wave plate assembly is used for receiving the split light beam emitted by the n-stage optical path switching mechanism and changing the polarization state of the split light beam.
The first Faraday rotator is used for converting the polarization directions of the two split light beams emitted by the first half-wave plate assembly into the orthogonal directions.
The second birefringent crystal is used for coupling the received split light beams into a light beam and transmitting the combined light beam to an output optical fiber from an output collimator corresponding to the position of the emergent light beam.
The n-stage optical path switching mechanism is at least two-stage optical path switching mechanism, each stage of optical path switching mechanism has the same structure and comprises a second half-wave component, a second faraday rotation crystal and a third birefringent crystal, wherein the second half-wave component is used for converting the polarization state of the light beam received by the second half-wave component into the same polarization state; the second Faraday rotator crystal is used for changing the polarization state of the light beam received by the second Faraday rotator crystal under the action of a magnetic field, so that the light beam received by the second Faraday rotator crystal can rotate along the clockwise direction or the anticlockwise direction according to the direction of the magnetic field; the third birefringent crystal is used for decomposing the received light beam into a plurality of split light beams in multiple, and distributing the split light beams to different light beam positions according to the optical rotation direction of the second Faraday rotation crystal.
As shown in fig. 1, fig. 1 is an arrangement diagram of optical components of a 1 × 4 magneto-optical switch, in which a two-stage optical path switching mechanism is provided to switch one-path light to four-path light.
In fig. 1, divergent light output from an input optical fiber is collimated into a parallel light beam by an input collimator 101, the parallel light beam 11 is transmitted to a crystal interface of a first birefringent crystal 111, the first birefringent crystal 111 splits the parallel light beam 11 received by the first birefringent crystal into two sub-light beams 12a and 12b with fixed polarization states and orthogonal polarization directions, and the two sub-light beams 12a and 12b are parallel.
Then, the two sub-beams 12a and 12b enter the 1-stage optical path switching mechanism, the second half wave module 121 in the 1-stage optical path switching mechanism converts the polarization states of the two sub-beams 12a and 12b into the same polarization state, then the second faraday rotator 131 rotates the two sub-beams 12a and 12b under the action of a magnetic field to change the polarization states of the two sub-beams 12a and 12b again, and then the two sub-beams 12a and 12b enter the third birefringent crystal 112, and the third birefringent crystal 112 decomposes the two sub-beams 12a and 12b into four split beams 13a, 13b, 13e, 13f, in which the sub-beam 12a is decomposed into 13a and 13e and the sub-beam 12b is decomposed into 13b and 13 f.
Thereafter, the four split light beams 13a, 13b, 13e, and 13f enter the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism, and the second half wave block assembly 122 and the second faraday rotation crystal 132 in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism perform polarization state conversion again on the four light beams. The four split beams 13a, 13b, 13e, 13f after polarization direction conversion enter a third birefringent crystal 113 of the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism, and the third birefringent crystal 113 decomposes the received four split beams 13a, 13b, 13e, 13f into eight split beams 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e, 14f, 14g, and 14h, in which 13a is decomposed into 14c and 14h, 13b is decomposed into 14b and 14d, 13e is decomposed into 14e and 14g, and 13f is decomposed into 14a and 14 f.
The eight split beams 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e, 14f, 14g and 14h pass through the first half-wave plate assembly 123 and the first faraday rotator 133 for polarization state conversion, and then enter the second birefringent crystal 114, the second birefringent crystal 114 combines the eight split beams 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e, 14f, 14g and 14h into four beams 15b, 15d, 15f and 15h, and the four beams 15b, 15d, 15f and 15h can be respectively input from the output collimators 102, 103, 104 and 105 to the corresponding output fibers.
Fig. 2a and 2b are side and top views of a 1x4 magneto-optical switch.
As can be seen from fig. 2a and 2b, after the light beam 11 entering the fiber collimator 101 enters the birefringent crystal 111, the two sub-light beams 12a and 12b are resolved into two sets of light beams (13a and 13b are one set, 13a and 13b are in the same vertical plane and 13a is above 13 b; 13e and 13f are one set, 13e and 13f are in the same vertical plane and 13e is above 13 f) and the two sets of light beams are resolved into two sets of light beams (13a and 12b are in the 1 st position and 3 rd position) by the birefringent crystal 112 after polarization conversion by the half-wave plate assembly 121 and the faraday rotation crystal 131. The two groups of light beams are decomposed into four groups of light beams by the birefringent crystal 113 after polarization conversion again by the half-wave plate assembly 122 and the faraday rotator 132 (14a and 14b are one group, 14a and 14b are in the same vertical plane and 14a is above 14 b; 14c and 14d are one group, 14c and 14d are in the same vertical plane and 14c is above 14 d; 14e and 14f are one group, 14e and 14f are in the same vertical plane and 14e is above 14 f; 14g and 14h are one group, 14g and 14h are in the same vertical plane and 14g is above 14 h), the light beam positions of the four groups of light beams are respectively designated as ch1, ch2, ch3 and ch4, that is, the birefringent crystal 113 splits the light beam at the 1 st position into the light beams at the 1 st and 2 nd positions, and splits the light beam at the 3 rd position into the light beams at the 3 rd and 4 th positions. The four sets of beams then enter birefringent crystal 114 and are recombined into 4 beams of light, which are received by 4 output collimators.
In the practical use process, according to the practical requirement, the switching of the light beams among the four output collimators can be realized by changing the directions of the externally added magnetic fields in the 1-stage light path switching mechanism and the 2-stage light path switching mechanism, so that the purpose of light path switching is realized.
As described above, the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism can switch the path signal to the four-path signal, and in this way, the 3-stage optical path switching mechanism can switch the path signal to the eight-path signal. Therefore, according to practical requirements, 3 or 4 or more stages of optical path switching mechanisms can be added between the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism and the first half wave plate assembly 123 to realize the optical path switching of more paths (one path of optical signal to 2 path of optical signal)nSwitching of the way signal),such as 1x6,1x8,1x16 magneto-optical switches.
The following describes the optical path switching process in detail by taking a 1x4 magneto-optical switch as an example. Fig. 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are right side views of a 1x4 magneto-optical switch, the polarization directions of the respective beams after being output from each element being given from left to right in the figures.
Assuming that a forward magnetic field is loaded on the faraday rotator in the 1-stage optical path switching mechanism, a forward magnetic field is also loaded on the faraday rotator in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism, and a forward magnetic field is loaded on the first faraday rotator 133, the transmission process of the light beam is as follows:
as shown in fig. 3a, the polarization direction of the parallel light beam 11 output by the input collimator 101 is arbitrary polarization, and includes two components in the horizontal and vertical directions; after entering the first birefringent crystal 111, the parallel light beam is decomposed into two linearly polarized sub-beams 12a and 12b, the polarization directions of which are horizontal and vertical, respectively;
then, the sub-beams 12a and 12b enter two sub-elements 121a and 121b of a half-wave plate assembly 121 in the 1-stage optical path switching mechanism respectively, and the optical axis directions of the two sub-elements 121a and 121b are 22.5 degrees and-22.5 degrees respectively, after passing through the half-wave plate assembly 121, the polarization directions of the sub-beams 12a and 12b are the same and are both 45 degrees; then, the sub-beams 12a and 12b pass through a Faraday rotator 131, the polarization directions are rotated by 45 degrees in the counterclockwise direction, and the polarization directions of the sub-beams 12a and 12b are changed into vertical directions; then the sub-beams 12a and 12b enter the birefringent crystal 112, the beams are not deflected because the polarization direction of the beams is vertical, the birefringent crystal 112 outputs only the sub-beams 13a and 13b, the sub-beams 13a and 13b are located at the first beam position Ch1, and the polarization direction is also vertical;
then the sub-beams 13a and 13b enter a sub-half-wave plate 122a of a half-wave plate assembly 122 in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism, the optical axis direction of the sub-beam is 67.5 degrees, and after passing through the half-wave plate assembly 122, the polarization direction of the sub-beams 13a and 13b becomes 45 degrees; then, after passing through the faraday rotator 132, the polarization direction rotates 45 degrees counterclockwise, and the polarization directions of the sub-beams 13a and 13b become vertical directions; after that, the sub-beams 13a and 13b enter the birefringent crystal 113, and since the polarization direction of the light beam is vertical, the light beam is not deflected, the birefringent crystal 113 only outputs the sub-beams 14a and 14b, and the sub-beams 14a and 14b are located at the first light beam position Ch1, and the polarization direction is also vertical;
then, the sub-beams 14a and 14b enter the two sub-half- wave plates 123a and 123b of the first half-wave plate assembly 123 respectively, the optical axis directions of the two sub-half- wave plates 123a and 123b are different, and are 67.5 degrees and 67.5 degrees respectively, and after passing through the half-wave plate assembly 123, the polarization directions of the sub-beams 14a and 14b are different, and are 45 degrees and 45 degrees respectively; then passes through a first Faraday rotator 133, the polarization direction rotates 45 degrees in the counterclockwise direction, and the polarization directions of the sub-beams 14a and 14b are changed into the vertical direction and the horizontal direction respectively; the sub-beams 14a and 14b then enter the second birefringent crystal 114, the sub-beam 14a is deflected downwards, the two sub-beams are combined into one beam 15b, and finally the beam 15b is received by the first output collimator 102, completing the transmission of the optical signal from the input collimator 101 to the first output collimator 102.
Assuming that a forward magnetic field is applied to the faraday rotator in the 1-stage optical path switching mechanism, a reverse magnetic field is applied to the faraday rotator in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism, and a forward magnetic field is applied to the first faraday rotator 133, the transmission process of the light beam is as follows:
as shown in fig. 3b, the polarization direction of the parallel light beam 11 output by the input collimator 101 is arbitrary polarization, and includes two components in the horizontal and vertical directions; after entering the first birefringent crystal 111, the first birefringent crystal is decomposed into two linearly polarized sub-beams 12a and 12b, the polarization directions of which are horizontal and vertical, respectively;
then, the sub-beams 12a and 12b enter two sub-elements 121a and 121b of a half-wave plate assembly 121 in the 1-stage optical path switching mechanism respectively, and the optical axis directions of the two sub-elements 121a and 121b are 22.5 degrees and-22.5 degrees respectively, after passing through the half-wave plate assembly 121, the polarization directions of the sub-beams 12a and 12b are the same and are both 45 degrees; then, the sub-beams 12a and 12b pass through a Faraday rotator 131, the polarization directions are rotated by 45 degrees in the counterclockwise direction, and the polarization directions of the sub-beams 12a and 12b are changed into vertical directions; then the sub-beams 12a and 12b enter the birefringent crystal 112, the beams are not deflected because the polarization direction of the beams is vertical, the birefringent crystal 112 outputs only the sub-beams 13a and 13b, the sub-beams 13a and 13b are located at the first beam position Ch1, and the polarization direction is also vertical;
then the sub-beams 13a and 13b go through a sub-half wave plate 122a of a half wave plate assembly 122 in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism, the optical axis direction of which is 67.5 degrees, and after passing through the half wave plate assembly 122, the polarization directions of the sub-beams 13a and 13b become 45 degrees; then, after passing through Faraday rotator 132, the polarization direction is rotated by 45 degrees clockwise, and the polarization directions of the sub-beams 13a and 13b are both changed into horizontal directions; sub-beams 13a and 13b then enter birefringent crystal 113, and since the polarization direction of the beams is horizontal, both beams are deflected to the right, outputting sub-beams 14c and 14d, at second beam position Ch2, with the polarization direction also being horizontal;
then, the sub-beams 14c and 14d enter the two sub-half- wave plates 123c and 123d of the first half-wave plate assembly 123 respectively, and the optical axis directions of the two sub-half- wave plates 123c and 123d are different, and are respectively 22.5 degrees and-22.5 degrees, and after passing through the first half-wave plate assembly 123, the polarization directions of the sub-beams 14c and 14d are different, and are respectively 45 degrees and-45 degrees; then, the polarization directions of the two sub-beams 14c and 14d are rotated by 45 degrees in the counterclockwise direction through the first faraday rotator 133, and the polarization directions of the two sub-beams are changed into the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, respectively; the sub-beams 14c and 14d then enter the second birefringent crystal 114, the sub-beam 14c is deflected downwards, the two sub-beams are combined into one beam 15d, and finally the beam 15d is received by the second output collimator 103, completing the transmission of the optical signal from the input collimator 101 to the second output collimator 103.
Assuming that a reverse magnetic field is applied to the faraday rotator in the 1-stage optical path switching mechanism, a forward magnetic field is applied to the faraday rotator in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism, and a reverse magnetic field is applied to the first faraday rotator 133, the transmission process of the light beam is as follows:
as shown in fig. 3c, the polarization direction of the parallel light beam 11 output by the input collimator 101 is arbitrary polarization, and includes two components in the horizontal and vertical directions; after entering the first birefringent crystal 111, the first birefringent crystal is decomposed into two linearly polarized sub-beams 12a and 12b, the polarization directions of which are horizontal and vertical, respectively;
then, the sub-beams 12a and 12b enter two sub-elements 121a and 121b of a half-wave plate assembly 121 in the 1-stage optical path switching mechanism respectively, and the optical axis directions of the two sub-elements 121a and 121b are 22.5 degrees and-22.5 degrees respectively, after passing through the half-wave plate assembly 121, the polarization directions of the sub-beams 12a and 12b are the same and are both 45 degrees; then, the sub-beams 12a and 12b both pass through the faraday rotator 131, the polarization direction rotates clockwise by 45 degrees, and the polarization directions of the sub-beams 12a and 12b both become horizontal; after that, the sub-beams 12a and 12b enter the birefringent crystal 112, and since the polarization direction of the beams is the horizontal direction, both sub-beams are deflected to the right, and the sub-beams 13e and 13f are output, and the sub-beams 13e and 13f are located at the third beam position Ch3, and the polarization direction is also the horizontal direction;
then, the sub-beams 13e and 13f go through a sub-half-wave plate 122b of a half-wave plate assembly 122 in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism, the optical axis direction of the sub-beam is 22.5 degrees, and after passing through the half-wave plate assembly 122, the polarization direction of the sub-beams 13e and 13f becomes 45 degrees; then, after passing through Faraday rotator 132, the polarization direction is rotated by 45 degrees in the counterclockwise direction, and the polarization directions of the sub-beams 13e and 13f are both changed into vertical directions; then, the sub-beams 13e and 13f enter the birefringent crystal 113, and since the polarization direction of the light beam is vertical, the light beam is not deflected, and the sub-beams 14e and 14f are output, and the sub-beams 14e and 14f are located at the third beam position Ch3, and the polarization direction is also vertical;
then, the sub-beams 14e and 14f enter two half- wave plate sub-members 123e and 123f of the half-wave plate assembly 123 respectively, and the optical axis directions of the two half- wave plate sub-members 123e and 123f are different, namely-67.5 degrees and 67.5 degrees respectively, and after passing through the first half-wave plate assembly 123, the polarization directions of the sub-beams 14e and 14f are different, namely-45 degrees and 45 degrees respectively; then, the polarization directions of the two sub-beams 14e and 14f are rotated by 45 degrees clockwise through the first Faraday rotator 133, and the polarization directions of the two sub-beams are changed into vertical and horizontal directions respectively; the sub-beams 14e and 14f then enter the second birefringent crystal 114, and since the sub-beam 14e is deflected downward, the two sub-beams are combined into one beam 15c, and finally the beam 15c is received by the third output collimator 104, completing the transmission of the optical signal from the input collimator 101 to the third output collimator 104.
Assuming that a reverse magnetic field is applied to the faraday rotator in the 1-stage optical path switching mechanism, a reverse magnetic field is applied to the faraday rotator in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism, and a reverse magnetic field is applied to the first faraday rotator 133, the transmission process of the light beam is as follows:
as shown in fig. 3d, the polarization direction of the parallel light beam 11 output by the input collimator 101 is arbitrary polarization, and includes two components in the horizontal and vertical directions; the parallel light beam 11 enters the birefringent crystal 111 and is then split into two linearly polarized sub-beams 12a and 12b, the polarization directions of which are horizontal and vertical, respectively;
then, the sub-beams 12a and 12b enter two sub-elements 121a and 121b of a half-wave plate assembly 121 in the 1-stage optical path switching mechanism respectively, and the optical axis directions of the two sub-elements 121a and 121b are 22.5 degrees and-22.5 degrees respectively, after passing through the half-wave plate assembly 121, the polarization directions of the sub-beams 12a and 12b are the same and are both 45 degrees; then, the sub-beams 12a and 12b both pass through the faraday rotator 131, the polarization direction rotates clockwise by 45 degrees, and the polarization directions of the sub-beams 12a and 12b both become horizontal; then, the sub-beams 12a and 12b enter the birefringent crystal 112, and since the polarization direction of the beams is the horizontal direction, both the sub-beams are deflected to the right, and the sub-beams 13e and 13f are output, the sub-beams 13e and 13f are located at the third position Ch3, and the polarization direction is also the horizontal direction;
then, the sub-beams 13e and 13f enter the sub-half-wave plate 122b of the half-wave plate assembly 122 in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism, the optical axis direction thereof is 22.5 degrees, and after passing through the half-wave plate assembly 122, the polarization directions of the sub-beams 13e and 13f become 45 degrees; then, after passing through Faraday rotator 132, the polarization direction is rotated by 45 degrees clockwise, and the polarization directions of sub-beams 13e and 13f are both changed into horizontal directions; then, the sub-beams 13e and 13f enter the birefringent crystal 113, and since the polarization direction of the light beam is the horizontal direction, both the sub-beams are deflected to the right, and the sub-beams 14g and 14h are output, the sub-beams 14g and 14h are located at the fourth position Ch4, and the polarization direction is also the horizontal direction;
then the sub-beams 14g and 14h respectively enter two half-wave plate sub-pieces 123g and 123h of the first half-wave plate assembly 123, the optical axis directions of the two half-wave plate sub-pieces 123g and 123h are different, namely-22.5 degrees and 22.5 degrees respectively, and after passing through the half-wave plate assembly 123, the polarization directions of the sub-beams 14g and 14h are different, namely-45 degrees and 45 degrees respectively; then, the polarization directions of the two sub-beams 14g and 14h are respectively changed into the vertical direction and the horizontal direction by rotating 45 degrees clockwise through the first Faraday rotator 133; the sub-beams 14g and 14h then enter the second birefringent crystal 114, and since the sub-beam 14g is deflected downward, the two sub-beams are combined into one beam 15d, and finally the beam 15d is received by the fourth output collimator 105, completing the transmission of the optical signal from the input collimator 101 to the fourth output collimator 105.
Second embodiment, the magneto-optical switch of this embodiment omits the first faraday rotator 133, and realizes the purpose that the optical beam (optical signal) is input from one input collimator to 2 by changing the optical axis direction of each sub-element in the first half-wave plate assembly 123nSwitching between output collimators, i.e. the magneto-optical switch in this embodiment comprises an input collimator, a first birefringent crystal, an n-stage optical path switching mechanism, a first half-wave plate assembly, a second birefringent crystal and 2nAnd the output collimators, wherein n is a positive integer.
Specifically, taking the 1 × 4 magneto-optical switch as an example, switching of an optical signal from the input collimator 101 to the four output collimators 102, 103, 104 and 105 is achieved by changing the optical axis directions of the respective sub-pieces in the first half-wave plate assembly 123 without using the first faraday rotator 133.
In this embodiment, other specific real-time modes are the same as those in the first embodiment, and are not described herein again.
In the magneto-optical switch of the third embodiment, each of the faraday rotator 132 in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism is composed of a plurality of sub faraday rotators, so that the four split beams resolved by the birefringent crystal 112 can pass through its corresponding sub faraday rotator.
In this embodiment, other specific real-time modes are the same as those in the first embodiment, and are not described herein again.
In the magneto-optical switch of the fourth embodiment, the birefringent crystal 113 in the 2-stage optical path switching mechanism can be composed of two birefringent crystals 113a and 113b, and the two birefringent crystals 113a and 113b respectively split the light at the two beam positions Ch1 and Ch3 into the light at the four beam positions Ch1, Ch2, Ch3 and Ch 4.
In this embodiment, other specific real-time modes are the same as those in the first embodiment, and are not described herein again.
Fifth embodiment, in the magneto-optical switch of the present embodiment, the first faraday rotator 133 is composed of two or more sub faraday rotators, so that the eight split beams resolved by the birefringent crystal 113 can pass through their respective sub faraday rotators.
In this embodiment, other specific real-time modes are the same as those in the first embodiment, and are not described herein again.
Sixth embodiment, in the magneto-optical switch of this embodiment, the second birefringent crystal 114 can be composed of a plurality of (two or three or four) birefringent crystals, which respectively correspond to the light beams at different beam positions, so as to combine the two light beams at each beam position into one light beam.
In this embodiment, other specific real-time modes are the same as those in the first embodiment, and are not described herein again.
Sixth embodiment, in the magneto-optical switch of the present embodiment, a part or all of the birefringent crystals 111, 112, 113, and 114 may be replaced with a polarization beam splitter based on a polarization beam splitting film as shown in fig. 4 b.
In this embodiment, other specific real-time modes are the same as those in the first embodiment, and are not described herein again.
Seventh embodiment, in the magneto-optical switch of this embodiment, the position of the second half-wave plate module in each stage of the optical path switching mechanism and the position of the second faraday rotator are interchangeable, and the switching of the optical beam (optical signal) from one input collimator to 2n output collimators is realized by changing the optical axis direction of each sub-element in the second half-wave plate module or switching the state of the second faraday rotator.
In this embodiment, other specific real-time modes are the same as those in the first embodiment, and are not described herein again.
The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.
Claims (10)
1. A magneto-optical switch is characterized by comprising an input collimator, a first birefringent crystal, an n-stage optical path switching mechanism, a first half-wave plate component, a second birefringent crystal and a second half-wave plate component which are sequentially arranged along a light propagation directionnN is a positive integer;
the input collimator is used for collimating the divergent light beams output by the input optical fiber into parallel light beams;
the first birefringent crystal is used for decomposing the received parallel light beam into two sub-light beams with orthogonal polarization directions;
the n-stage optical path switching mechanism is used for changing the polarization states of the two sub-beams emitted by the first birefringent crystal and enabling the split beams of the two sub-beams to rotate under the action of forward and/or reverse saturation magnetic fields to pass through the second birefringent crystal from the second stage to the third stagenOne of the beam positions is output;
the first half-wave plate assembly is used for receiving the split light beam emitted by the n-stage light path switching mechanism and changing the polarization state of the split light beam;
the second birefringent crystal is used for coupling the received split light beams into a light beam and transmitting the combined light beam to an output optical fiber from an output collimator corresponding to the position of the emergent light beam.
2. A magneto-optical switch according to claim 1, further comprising a first faraday rotator mounted with a controllable magnetic element between the first half-wave plate and the second birefringent crystal, the first faraday rotator being configured to convert polarization directions of the two split light beams emitted from the first half-wave plate into orthogonal directions.
3. A magneto-optical switch according to claim 2, wherein the first faraday rotator is formed of a plurality of sub faraday rotators such that the split beam exiting the first half wave plate assembly passes through different sub faraday rotators.
4. A magneto-optical switch according to claim 2 or 3, wherein an angle of optical rotation of said first faraday rotator crystal is 45 °.
5. A magneto-optical switch according to claim 1, wherein each of the n-stage optical path switching mechanisms comprises a second half-wave plate assembly, a second Faraday rotator crystal, and a third birefringent crystal,
the second half-wave plate component is used for converting the polarization states of all received light beams into the same polarization state;
the second Faraday rotator is provided with a controllable magnetic element and is used for rotating the polarization directions of all light beams received from the second half-wave plate assembly under the action of a forward or reverse saturated magnetic field;
the third birefringent crystal is used for decomposing the light beam received from the second Faraday rotator crystal into 2 in multiplen+1Splitting the beam and directing the split beam from 2nOne of the beam positions is output in the corresponding beam position.
6. A magneto-optical switch according to claim 5, wherein an angle of rotation of said second faraday rotator crystal is 45 °.
7. A magneto-optical switch according to claim 5, wherein a position of the second half-wave plate member in each stage of the optical path switching mechanism is interchangeable with a position of the second faraday rotator.
8. A magneto-optical switch according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said second Faraday rotator crystal is composed of a plurality of daughter Faraday rotator crystals.
9. A magneto-optical switch according to claim 5, wherein the third birefringent crystal is replaceable with one or more polarization splitters.
10. A magneto-optical switch according to claim 1 or 8, wherein the first birefringent crystal and/or the second birefringent crystal are replaced by one or more polarization splitters.
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|---|---|---|---|
| CN202110915349.8A CN113777810A (en) | 2021-08-10 | 2021-08-10 | Magneto-optical switch |
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| CN202110915349.8A CN113777810A (en) | 2021-08-10 | 2021-08-10 | Magneto-optical switch |
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| CN1365011A (en) * | 2000-07-14 | 2002-08-21 | Jds尤尼费斯公司 | Beam splitter and beam combiner with isolated polarized beam |
| US20020171905A1 (en) * | 2001-03-16 | 2002-11-21 | Hongdu Liu | Optical switch |
| CN102929001A (en) * | 2012-11-22 | 2013-02-13 | 珠海保税区光联通讯技术有限公 | Magneto-optical switch |
| US20150131990A1 (en) * | 2013-11-12 | 2015-05-14 | Fdk Corporation | Optical switch |
| CN108983359A (en) * | 2018-10-24 | 2018-12-11 | 光越科技(深圳)有限公司 | It is a kind of with photoswitch performance and adjustable two-way optical circulator |
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2021
- 2021-08-10 CN CN202110915349.8A patent/CN113777810A/en active Pending
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN1365011A (en) * | 2000-07-14 | 2002-08-21 | Jds尤尼费斯公司 | Beam splitter and beam combiner with isolated polarized beam |
| US20020171905A1 (en) * | 2001-03-16 | 2002-11-21 | Hongdu Liu | Optical switch |
| CN102929001A (en) * | 2012-11-22 | 2013-02-13 | 珠海保税区光联通讯技术有限公 | Magneto-optical switch |
| US20150131990A1 (en) * | 2013-11-12 | 2015-05-14 | Fdk Corporation | Optical switch |
| CN108983359A (en) * | 2018-10-24 | 2018-12-11 | 光越科技(深圳)有限公司 | It is a kind of with photoswitch performance and adjustable two-way optical circulator |
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