JPH03246525A - Multi-terminal optical switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To integrate elements and to make switch passing optical paths short by arranging polarization plane control element arrays and optical path polarizing elements alternately on optical paths of collimated light beams which are made incident on a device. CONSTITUTION:The collimated signal light beam emission arrays 111 and 112 are arranged on two sides of a polarization beam splitter 131 for optical multiplexing and collimated signal beam output port arrays 121 and 122 are arranged on two sides of a polarization beam splitter 132. A light beam which is made incident on one polarization plane control element among the polarization plane control element arrays 141 - 149 has its plane of polarization rotated by 90 deg. and its passing P and s waves are alternated. When the element is ON. When the corresponding element is OFF, on the other hand, the plane of polarization is not affected at all and the passing P and S wave are held in the states as they are. Optical path converting elements 151 - 158 switch optical paths according to the planes of polarization of incident light beams. Consequently, the elements are integrated and the switch passing optical paths can be made short.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application 1] The present invention relates to a multi-terminal optical switch having a function of arbitrarily changing the order of optical paths of a plurality of light beams propagating in space. 1. Conventional technology 1. Optical switches are needed to diversify, increase reliability, and make optical fiber communication systems more economical. In particular, electronic optical switches operate at high speed and have no moving parts, making them highly reliable. It has the characteristics of being able to realize For example, an optical matrix switch has been proposed that switches wiring between a large number of input terminals and a large number of output terminals by switching the polarization state of a light beam propagating in space. FIG. 6 shows the structure of this conventional optical matrix switch. In FIG. 6, 1 is an input light beam, 2 is an output light beam, 3 is an input side polarization plane control element, 4 is an output side polarization plane control element, and 5 is a polarization beam splitter. The polarizing beam splitter 5 transmits the P waves passing in the horizontal and vertical directions in the figure, and refracts the S waves by 90 degrees. Furthermore, in the OFF state, the polarization plane control elements 3 and 4 do not affect the polarization plane of the passing light, and in the ON state, they rotate the polarization plane of the passing light by 90 degrees, thereby controlling the P waves and S waves from each other. Convert. It is also assumed that all input optical beams 1 of this switch are P waves. Using this switch, the i-th input optical beam in the figure is j
In order to extract the output light beam as the output light beam, the input side polarization plane control element 3 and the output side polarization plane control element 4 of the polarization beam splitter 5 are located at the intersection of the i-th input light beam and the j-th output light beam. It is sufficient to turn both of them ON and set all other polarization plane control elements to F. At this time,
The light beam that has reached the polarization beam splitter 5 is converted into an S wave by the input side polarization plane control element 3, refracted by the polarization beam splitter 5, and converted into a P wave again by the output side polarization plane control element 4. Propagates as an output light beam. On the other hand, two human-powered, two-output unit switches are connected in multiple stages, and two
A method of configuring a switch network has been invented that can realize all combinations between input terminals and output terminals by connecting N input terminals and 2N output terminals on a one-to-one basis. FIG. 7 shows the connection state of an eight-man power, eight-output switch network based on this construction method. In FIG. 7, solid lines 12 indicate wiring by optical fibers within the switch network. In addition, the rectangle 11 is a unit switch with two outputs powered by two people.
By external control, input ■ - ratio output, input ■ - ratio output connection form (through), input ■ - ratio output, input ■ -
Either one of the specific output connection types (cross) is used. The switch network shown in Figure 7 has 2N input terminals and 2N input terminals.
It can be easily expanded to a switch network with several output terminals. In this expansion, two switch networks each having 2N-1 terminals are arranged in parallel, and a unit switch stage is installed in front of the switch network to distribute one output from each of the two switch networks to each of the two switch networks.
This is realized by providing a unit switch stage that receives human power from each of the two switch networks at the subsequent stage. Here, the two output terminals of the i-th unit switch in the first stage are connected to the i-th unit switch in the next stage and the i+2N-1th (
when i≦2N-1) or i 2N-1th (i>2
”), and the two output terminals of the i-th unit switch in the previous stage of the final stage are connected to the i-th unit switch in the final stage and 1 + 2 N-1th (
when i≦2N-1) or 1-2N-1th (i >
2N-'), the above condition is satisfied. FIG. 8 shows wiring when the number of input terminals and the number of output terminals is set to 2'=32 as an example of expansion of the above switch network. The area 21 indicated by a broken line in this figure has the same structure as the 8-man power 8-output switch network shown in FIG. Furthermore, the region 22 indicated by the chain line frame forms a switch network with 16 manpower and 16 outputs constructed according to the above-mentioned extended algorithm. The entire switch network shown in FIG. 8 is obtained by further expanding this switch network 22 using the above algorithm. As is clear from the above algorithm and Figure 8,
-M-wise, a switch network with 2N input terminals and output terminals consists of a (2N-1) stage unit switch array containing 2N-1 unit switches per stage and an output of each cross-connect switch. 1, 2, 4... 2N-2 wiring networks are connected to the switches whose positions have been spatially shifted by 2N-2 in the next stage switch array, for a total of 2 stages each. It is composed of a wiring network of (2N-2) stages. As a method for configuring unit switches for optically realizing the above switch network, there is a method in which the rotation of the polarization plane of a passing light beam by a polarization plane control element corresponds to the operation of the unit switches. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the operation of this unit switch. In FIG. 9, 31 and 32 are polarizing beam splitters, which transmit P waves and refract S waves by 90 degrees. 33 is a polarization plane control element disposed between the polarization beam splitters 31 and 32. In the OFF state, it does not affect the polarization plane of the passing light beam, and in the ON state, it changes the polarization plane of the passing light beam by 90 degrees. Rotate to exchange P waves and S waves. 34 and 35 are incident polarized beams, 34 is a P wave, and 35 is an S wave. 36 and 37 are output polarized beams, 36 is a P wave, and 37 is an S wave. In FIG. 9, when the polarization plane control element 33 is leaf F,
The polarization plane of the passing light beam does not change, and the incident light beam 34, which is a P wave, becomes the output light beam 36 as a P wave, and the incident light beam 35, which is an S wave, is refracted by 90 degrees by the polarizing beam splitter 32. This becomes an emitted light beam 37. On the other hand, when the polarization plane control element 33 is ON, the polarization plane of the passing light beam is rotated by 90 degrees, and the incident light beam 34, which is a P wave, is converted into an S wave and becomes an output light beam 37. S
The incident light beam 35, which is a wave, is converted into a P wave and becomes an output light beam 36. These two operations are equivalent to the two operations of through and cross of the unit switch defined above, considering the input light beam 34.35 as two human powers and the output light beam 36.37 as two outputs. [Problem to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional optical matrix switch as shown in FIG. 6 described above can realize a switching circuit with N input terminals and N output terminals with a simple configuration.However, , since N2 polarizing beam splitters are required for each N terminal number, the number of components becomes extremely large as the number N of terminals increases.In addition, the number of light beams is 2N-1 at maximum. It has the disadvantage that the passing loss is large because it passes through the polarization beam splitter and the polarization plane control elements on the input side and the output side.Also, if the polarization plane control element 33 as shown in Fig. 9 is used as a unit switch element, When configuring a switch network as shown in Figures 7 and 8, it is necessary to set up wiring between each switch stage. It is necessary to separate the wave into P waves and S waves, combine each with the other incident light beam of the next stage switch, and input it to the next stage switch.It has 2N input terminals and output terminals. If the optical beams are separated and combined using individual polarizing beam splitters for a switch network, 2N polarizing beam splitters will be required per stage of the wiring network.Therefore, wiring using polarizing beam splitters If a network is adopted, 2N (2N-2) polarizing beam splitters are required for the entire switch network, which has the disadvantage that the number of required components increases significantly as the number of terminals increases. As a result, the optical path of the signal light within the switch becomes longer, and the difference between the optical paths of each signal light increases, causing signal delay and jitter. The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks and provide a simple and downsized multi-terminal optical switch for switching a plurality of light beams propagating in free space. [Means for solving the problem] Achieving the above object. Therefore, the present invention provides a collimator light in which each of a plurality of incident signal lights has only one of two linearly polarized components orthogonal to each other, and the linearly polarized light components in the collimator light are orthogonal to each other. a signal light input means for synthesizing the signals and propagating them on the same optical path, and arranging the optical paths in an equally spaced grid pattern or in a row in parallel to enter the device; signal light emitting means for separating each of the plurality of collimated light beams into two mutually orthogonal linearly polarized light components and emitting the same to the outside of the device; and for allowing the two mutually orthogonal linearly polarized light components of the passing light beam to pass through as they are. a polarization plane control element array in which a plurality of polarization plane control elements are arranged corresponding to the optical path, and the plurality of polarization plane control elements are controlled to either mutually exchange these linearly polarized light components, and a plurality of light beams passing through the polarization plane control element array; For all of the above, the light beam is separated into two orthogonal linearly polarized components, and the optical path of one of the linearly polarized components is converted vertically or horizontally by a predetermined integer multiple of the optical path spacing. and an optical path changing element that combines the converted linearly polarized light component with a linearly polarized light component of another light beam that is not optically path-changed and that is separated into two mutually orthogonal linearly polarized components and propagates on the same optical path, A plurality of the polarization plane control element arrays and the optical path polarization elements are alternately arranged on the optical path of the plurality of collimated lights incident therein according to the number of the plurality of collimated lights. shall be. Further, as one form of the present invention, the optical path changing element may include a plurality of optical path changing elements that transmit one of two linearly polarized beams orthogonal to each other and reflect a portion of the linearly polarized beam in a direction perpendicular to the direction of entry thereof. a first polarizing beam splitter array in which polarizing beam splitters having the same shape and stacked in the traveling direction of the reflected linearly polarized light; a second polarizing beam splitter array such that the reflection directions of the two polarizing beam splitter arrays are opposite to each other;
and a polarization plane rotation element that mutually exchanges the polarization planes of two linearly polarized beams, and the width of the polarization plane rotation element is the same as the width of the laminated polarization beam splitter, and When this width is an integral multiple of the interval between the optical paths of a plurality of collimated lights incident into the device, and a plurality of the polarization plane rotation elements are arranged,
A feature is that these polarization rotation elements are arranged parallel to each other with a period twice the width. In another aspect of the present invention, the signal light input means includes a plurality of polarization-maintaining fibers for transmitting signals, and fixes the polarization-maintaining fibers in a grid pattern with equal intervals or in a line and in parallel. a block, and first and second collimated light beam emitting arrays each comprising a collimating rod lens that converts the output beam of the polarization-maintaining fiber into a bundle of parallel light beams; and input from the first and second collimated light beam emitting arrays. By transmitting one of the collimated lights and reflecting the other in a direction perpendicular to the direction of incidence, linearly polarized components of the collimated lights that are perpendicular to each other are combined onto the same optical path. It is characterized by having a polarized beam splitter for propagating the polarized light beam. [Function 1] The multi-terminal optical switch according to the present invention uses a polarizing beam splitter integrated as an optical path conversion element to integrate the elements and shorten the optical path passing through the switch. It is possible to realize downsizing. In particular, the present invention realizes the wiring function of multiple spatially propagating light beams with short optical path lengths and small optical path length differences using an optical path conversion element that integrates a polarization beam splitter and a polarization plane control element. In this respect, it is clearly different from the conventional technology. [Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a multi-terminal optical switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is an optical switch network equivalent to the above-mentioned switch network having 32 input terminals and 32 output terminals as shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 111 and 112 are collimated signal light beam radiation arrays for inputting signal light beams of a plurality of parallel ray bundles, and the light beam radiated from one radiation array 111 is a linearly polarized P wave. , the light beam emanating from the other radiating array 112 is linearly polarized S-wave. Reference numerals 121 and 122 designate collimated signal light beam output cupode arrays for respectively emitting a plurality of parallel light beams of signal light beams. 131 and 132 are polarizing beam splitters that transmit P waves and refract S waves by 90 degrees. The above-mentioned collimated signal light beam emitting arrays 111 and 112 are arranged on two sides of the former polarizing beam splitter 131 for optical multiplexing, and the above-mentioned collimated signal light beam output coupler array 12
1,122 is a polarizing beam splitter 1 for the latter optical branching.
It is placed on two sides of 32. Reference numerals 141 to 149 each represent a polarization plane control element array, and when a light beam incident on any of the polarization plane control elements on this array is turned on, the polarization plane is rotated by 90 degrees, and the P wave passing through the light beam is rotated by 90 degrees. and S waves alternate with each other. On the other hand, when the corresponding element is OFF, the polarization plane is not affected in any way, and the passing P waves and S waves remain unchanged. The polarization plane control element arrays 141 to 149 can be realized using, for example, liquid crystal cells that can control the rotation of the polarization plane by applying electrical energy. As such a liquid crystal cell, for example, 2 cells subjected to homogeneous alignment treatment are used.
Twisted nematic liquid crystal (nematic liquid crystal with positive dielectric anisotropy) is placed between two glass substrates, and the long axis direction of the liquid crystal molecules is twisted 90 degrees between the two glass substrates.
There is a liquid crystal cell called twisted nematic alignment cell (TN) or twisted nematic alignment cell. In addition, polarization plane rotation using electro-optic crystal BSO (bismuth silicon oxide, Bi+2SiOzo), and magneto-optic crystal YIG (Y3F, 5
0.2) The polarization plane control element array 1 can also be created by modulating the polarization plane by Faraday rotation using a magnetic field using a system crystal.
41-149 can be realized. Reference numerals 151 to 158 are optical path changing elements, each having a function of switching the optical path depending on the polarization plane of the incident light beam. As shown in FIG.
31, polarization plane control element arrays 141 to 149 and optical path conversion elements 151 to 158 are arranged alternately on the optical path of a plurality of collimated lights, and a polarization beam splitter 132 is arranged behind them. Here, each of the polarization plane control element arrays 141 to 149 corresponds to one stage of the unit switch in FIG. 8 described above, and the optical path conversion elements 151 to 158
Each corresponds to the wiring network between each switch stage in FIG. FIG. 2(A) shows the numbers of the emitted light beams on one of the radiating arrays 111 when viewed in the traveling direction of the light beams, and FIG. 2(B) shows the numbers of the radiating light beams on the other radiating array 111. The numbers of the synchrotron radiation beams above are shown respectively. In addition, Fig. 2 (C
) is the number of each output port on one output port array 121 when viewed in the direction of travel of the light beam.
FIG. 2(D) shows the numbers of each output port on the other output port array 122. Also, Figure 2 (
E) shows the number of the optical path of the light beam passing through the polarization plane control element arrays 141 to 149 and the optical path changing elements 151 to 158 when viewed in the direction in which the light beam travels. As shown in this figure, the elements and optical paths are arranged in an array of 4 rows and 4 columns, and are numbered sequentially from the upper left to the right. When n is an integer, the light beams numbered 2n and 2n-1 are combined by the polarizing beam splitter 131, and each propagates on the optical path n as a polarized beam having planes of polarization perpendicular to each other. In order to make the optical switch shown in FIG. 1 equivalent to the switch network shown in FIG. 154
．． 155 for 1. Regarding the optical path conversion elements 153 and 156, see 2. 4 for optical path conversion elements 152 and 157
1 optical path conversion elements 151 and 158 need to be shifted by 8. Here, the operation of shifting the optical path by 4 or 8 can be realized by shifting the optical path by one or two times the optical path interval in the vertical direction in FIG. 2(E). Further, the operation of shifting the optical path by 1 or 2 can be realized by shifting the optical path by 1 or 2 times the optical path interval in the left-right direction in FIG. 2(E). Generally, 22N (i) switching of one optical beam requires 22N optical paths, and the maximum difference in optical path numbers to be switched is 22N-1. If they are arranged at equal intervals in 2N rows and 2N columns, the required shift amount of the optical paths is at most 2N-1 times the optical path spacing.In other words, in the present invention, the two-dimensional arrangement of the optical paths allows for spatially large optical paths. It is possible to switch optical paths with large differences in numbers without requiring movement. Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional configuration of the collimated signal light beam emitting arrays 111 and 112 of Fig. 1. In, 7
1 is a polarization-maintaining fiber, 72 is a glass or plastic block, and 73 is a SELFOC lens (registered trademark). The polarization-maintaining fibers 71 are arranged in blocks 72 such that each principal axis coincides with the direction of the adjacent fiber.
embedded in. Thereby, the optical signal to be transmitted can be emitted from the fiber 71 in the horizontal or vertical direction as linearly polarized light of P waves or S waves. The light emitted from the fiber 71 is collimated by the Selfox lens 73 and radiated as a light beam. At this time, the positions of the Selfox lenses 73 are adjusted and attached so that the output directions of the collimated light beams from each fiber are parallel to each other. 4(A) to (D), the optical path conversion element 151 of FIG.
-158 configuration is shown. FIG. 4(A) shows a horizontal type 8-shift optical path conversion element 151, 158 that shifts the optical path by twice the optical path spacing in the vertical direction, and FIG. 4-shift optical path conversion elements 152 and 157 are horizontally placed, and FIG. Figure 4 (D
) shows vertically placed one-shift optical path conversion elements 154 and 155 that shift the optical path by one time the optical path interval in the left-right direction. In FIGS. 4(A) to (D), 41 is a polarizing beam splitter, which separates incident light into two mutually orthogonal linearly polarized components (P component and S component), and allows the P component to pass through as is. The structure is such that the S component is reflected by a reflective surface inside the beam splitter. Reference numeral 42 denotes a half-wave plate (l/2-wave plate), which is arranged so that its main axis has an angle of 45° with respect to the polarization plane of the P component and S component with respect to the polarizing beam splitter 41. Therefore, the polarization planes of the P component and S component light that have passed through the half-wave plate 42 are rotated by 90 degrees, and the P component becomes the S component and the S component becomes the S component.
The components are each converted into P components. As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D, the optical path converting elements 151 to 158 have two splitter arrays in which a plurality of elongated polarizing beam splitters 41 are stacked facing each other, and each beam splitter 41 is placed between the splitter arrays. The structure is such that every other half-wave plate 42 having the same width is inserted into the beam splitter 41. At this time, the widths of each beam splitter 41 and half-wave plate 420 are both made equal to the amount of shift of the optical path by these optical path changing elements 151 to 158. Fig. 5(A) - (DJ is equipped with the above optical path conversion elements 151 - 15)
8 shows the passage paths of the P component and S component light incident on FIG. 5(A) and 5(B) show elements 152.154.155.157 with a shift amount equal to the optical path spacing, and FIG. 5(C) and (D) show an element 152.154.155.157 with a shift amount twice the optical path spacing. Elements 151, 153, 156, and 158 are shown. Further, the solid line in this figure shows the path of the P component light beam, and the broken line shows the path of the S component light beam. First, the elements 152 and 1 have a shift amount equal to the optical path interval.
54.155.157 will be explained. Figure 5 (A)
. As shown in (B), a P-component light beam enters the beam splitter 41 in which the half-wave plate 42 is not inserted, and an S-component light beam enters the beam splitter 41 in which the half-wave plate 42 one step below is inserted. Each of the component light beams passes through a gap in which no half-wave plate 42 is present. Therefore, both of these light beams are emitted from the beam splitter 41 located at the same height as the incident position, and their polarization planes are also maintained as they are. On the other hand, the S-component light beam incident on the beam splitter 41 in which the half-wave plate 42 is not inserted;
Beam splitter 41 with half-wave plate 42 inserted at the bottom
Both of the P-component light beams incident on the half-wave plate 42
pass through. Therefore, the former S component is converted into a P component and output from the beam splitter 41 one stage below the incident position. The latter P component is converted to an S component, and the beam splitter 4, which is one stage higher than the incident position,
It emits from 1. Therefore, the optical paths and polarization planes of both are interchanged with each other, and the present element realizes optical path conversion with a shift amount equal to the optical path interval. In addition, the elements 151, 1 have a shift amount twice the optical path interval.
53.156.158, Figure 5 (C), CD)
As shown in , the P component incident on the beam splitter 41 without the half-wave plate 42 inserted and the half-wave plate 42 one beam splitter below (twice the optical path spacing)
S incident on the beam splitter 41 where is not inserted
None of the components undergoes a shift in the optical path or rotation of the plane of polarization, but the S component that enters the beam splitter 41 in which the half-wave plate 42 is not inserted and the S component that is incident on the beam splitter 41 in which the half-wave plate 42 is not inserted, The P component incident on the beam splitter 41 into which the lower half-wave plate 42 is inserted is:
Their optical paths and planes of polarization interchange with each other. Therefore, this element realizes optical path conversion with a shift amount twice the optical path interval. Similarly, by making the width of each beam splitter 4I and half-wave plate 42 n times the optical path spacing, it is possible to configure an optical path conversion element having a shift amount n times the optical path spacing. As is clear from FIG. 5, if the optical path length of the light passing through the optical path conversion element having a shift amount n times the optical path interval is C, β is the optical path interval d and the thickness t of the half-wave plate 42. On the other hand, there is a relationship of 2nd+t≦β≦4nd+t. On the other hand, as is clear from the above explanation regarding FIG.
``In an optical switch for switching N0 optical beams, the shift amount of the optical path is 2 times the optical path spacing, 2 times the optical path interval, 2 times the optical path distance,
... Four 21x and 2° optical path conversion elements are required. Therefore, if the thickness per stage of a polarization plane control element such as 141 is T, the total optical path length of light passing through an optical switch for switching one light beam is 8 (2N-1 )d+4Nt+ (4N+l)T≦L
The following relationship is satisfied: ≦16(2N-1)d+4Nt+(4N+1)T. In addition, the maximum optical path length difference L6 at this time is 8 (2
N-1)d. From these relationships, for example, d=2mm, t=1mm,
When configuring a 128-channel optical switch with T=5 mm, N=3, so L is 30.
1cm, and L6 is 11.2cm. For example, the average refractive index of each optical member constituting this optical switch is 1.
5, the signal delay due to passage through this optical switch is approximately 1.5 ns at maximum, and the signal jitter due to the difference in optical path length is 0.56 ns at maximum. Therefore, when the signal transmission rate is several tens of Mb/s, it is possible to configure a switch that has problems with signal delay or jitter. The optical path changing element can be formed by integrating the rotating element 42 in advance. Therefore, in the optical switch according to the present invention, the number of optical elements through which the light beam passes is as follows when the number of input terminals and the number of output terminals is 2N. , 141, (2N-1) polarization plane control elements,
An integrated optical path conversion element like 151 (2N-2
) and polarizing beam splitters 111.1 at both ends.
12 or 2 pieces. That is, in the present invention, by integrating a polarizing beam splitter as an optical path conversion element, the elements can be integrated, and the number of necessary parts can be significantly reduced compared to the conventional technology. Therefore, the multi-terminal optical switch according to the present invention has the advantage that adjustment is easier and the device can be made more compact than conventional optical switches. In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, the case is explained in which the number of input terminals and output terminals is 32. However, in the present invention, for any natural number n, 2@-'<
By finding an integer m that satisfies n≦2'', configuring a switch with 2'' terminals, and using n terminals therein, it can be operated as a switch with n terminals. Therefore, the present invention does not impose any restrictions on the number of input and output terminals. [Effect 1 of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by the above configuration. (1) By using an integrated polarizing beam splitter as an optical path conversion element, the elements can be integrated and the optical path passing through the switch can be shortened, so it is possible to configure a switch that is free from problems such as signal delay or jitter. (2) By integrating a polarizing beam splitter as an optical path converting element, the elements can be integrated, so the number of necessary parts can be significantly reduced, and this makes adjustment easier and the device smaller.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a multi-terminal optical switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 (A1-(D) shows the collimated light beam emitting array in FIG. , and the number of each optical path of the propagating collimated light; FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) are diagrams showing the number of each optical beam in the collimated light beam emission array; , (D) is a diagram showing the number of each light beam in the collimated light output port array, FIG. 2 (E) is a diagram showing the number of the optical path of the collimated light propagating within the device, and FIG. 4(A)-(DJ is a perspective view showing the structure of the optical path conversion element in FIG. 1. FIG. 5(A)-(D) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the optical paths of P-polarized light and S-polarized light passing through the optical path conversion element in FIG. (DJ is a diagram showing the optical path of an optical path conversion element that shifts one polarization component by twice the optical path spacing.) A plan view showing the structure of a conventional optical switch arranged in a matrix; Fig. 7 is a wiring diagram showing the wiring of a conventional optical switch circuit network with 8 manpower and 8 outputs; 111. A wiring diagram showing the wiring of a conventional optical switch circuit network for output. FIG. 9 is an optical path diagram showing the function of a conventional switch using a polarization plane control element as the switch circuit of FIGS. 7 and 8. 111. 112...Collimated light beam emitting array,
121.122...Collimated light output port array,
131, 132... Polarizing beam splitter, 141
-149...Polarization plane control element array, 151 to 159
... Optical path conversion element, 41 ... Polarization beam splitter, 42 ... Polarization plane rotation element, 71 ... Polarization maintaining fiber, 72 ... Glass or plastic block, 73 ... Selfoc lens (registered trademark)

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A collimator light in which each of a plurality of incident signal lights has only one of two mutually orthogonal linearly polarized components, wherein the collimator light has only one of two mutually orthogonal linearly polarized components. a signal light input means for synthesizing certain light beams and propagating them on the same optical path, and arranging the light paths in a lattice shape with equal intervals or in a row in parallel to enter the device; Signal light emitting means for separating each of the plurality of emitted collimated light beams into two mutually orthogonal linearly polarized light components and emitting the same to the outside of the device; a polarization plane control element array in which a plurality of polarization plane control elements are arranged corresponding to the optical path, and the plurality of polarization plane control elements are controlled to either make the linearly polarized light components or exchange the linearly polarized light components with each other; For all of the beams, the light beam is separated into two orthogonal linearly polarized components, and the optical path of one of the linearly polarized components is transformed vertically or horizontally by a predetermined integral multiple of the optical path interval. an optical path converting element that combines the linearly polarized light component whose optical path has been changed with a linearly polarized light component whose optical path has not been changed of another light beam separated into two mutually orthogonal linearly polarized components and propagates the same on the same optical path; The apparatus is characterized in that a plurality of the polarization plane control element arrays and the optical path converting elements are arranged alternately on the optical path of the plurality of collimated lights incident on the apparatus according to the number of the plurality of collimated lights. Multi-terminal optical switch. 2) The optical path conversion element has a plurality of identical shapes that transmit one of the two linearly polarized beams orthogonal to each other and reflect the other linearly polarized beam in a direction perpendicular to the direction of incidence thereof. a first polarizing beam splitter array in which polarizing beam splitters stacked in the direction in which the reflected linearly polarized light travels; a second polarizing beam splitter array in which each polarizing beam splitter is arranged and stacked so that the planes of polarization of the two mutually orthogonal linearly polarized beams sandwiched between and passing through the two polarizing beam splitter arrays are mutually The width of the polarization plane rotation element is the same as the width of each of the stacked polarization beam splitters, and this width is the same as the width of the polarization plane rotation element that is to be replaced. is an integral multiple of the distance between the optical paths of the plurality of collimated lights, and when a plurality of the polarization plane rotation elements are arranged, these polarization rotation elements are arranged parallel to each other at a period twice the width. The multi-terminal optical switch according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3) The signal light input means includes a plurality of polarization-maintaining fibers for transmitting signals, a block for fixing the polarization-maintaining fibers in a lattice shape with equal intervals or in a row in parallel, and the polarization-maintaining fibers first and second collimated light beam emitting arrays each comprising a collimating rod lens that converts an emitted beam into a bundle of parallel light rays; , and a polarizing beam splitter that combines mutually orthogonal linearly polarized components of the collimated light and propagates them on the same optical path by reflecting the other in a direction perpendicular to the direction of entry thereof. The multi-terminal optical switch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: