JPH0659202A - Optical switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To economically constitute a switching state in an optical switch in the optical switch using an optical fiber. CONSTITUTION:In the optical switch moving the end surface of the movable optical fiber 3 so as to be confronted with any one end surface of fixed optical fibers 1, 2 opposed and fixed to upward and downward parts in a casing 7, a conductive film 4 made of gold, cupper or silver, etc., is formed on an outer periphery in the vicinity of the tip of the movable optical fiber 3. Electrodes 5, 6 short-circuited with the conductive film 4 on the movable optical fiber 3 when the movable optical fiber 3 is confronted with the end surface of the fixed optical fiber 2 is provided in the casing 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical switch using an optical fiber. Various configurations have already been proposed for an optical switch for optically switching between optical fibers. It is desired to identify the switching connection state of such an optical switch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a conventional example, (A) is a schematic side sectional view, and (B) is a schematic vertical sectional view. In the figure, 11 and 12 are fixed optical fibers, 13 is a movable optical fiber, 14 and 15 are fixed members, 16 is a container, 17 is a magnetic material, and 18 is a coil.

The magnetic material 1 is attached to the tip of the movable optical fiber 13.
By fixing 7 and exciting the coil 18, the tip of the movable optical fiber 13 is moved from the solid line position to the dotted line position by the magnetic body 17, or vice versa. Fixed optical fiber 1 at the solid line position
1 and the movable optical fiber 13 face each other,
At the position indicated by the dotted line, the fixed optical fiber 12 and the movable optical fiber 13 have their respective end faces facing each other, so that the transmission path of the optical signal is switched.

Further, a self-holding type optical switch for holding the switching position of the movable optical fiber 13 by reversing the magnetization of the magnetic body 17 by a coil 18 and utilizing attraction and repulsion with a permanent magnet (not shown). Can be configured. That is, the coil 18 needs to be excited only when the movable optical fiber 13 is moved for switching, which is an economical structure.

A configuration is also known in which a movable optical fiber is switched and driven by using an electrostrictive element. For example, JP-A-54-2
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 8160, an optical fiber is supported by an electrostrictive element, and the tip of an optical fiber is displaced by applying a voltage to this electrostrictive element, so that an electromagnetic drive system using a coil 18 or the like is compared. Then, the switching between the optical fibers is performed at high speed.

[0006]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention There are cases in which the switching state of a switch is recognized in a control circuit or the like and it is determined whether or not switching control should be performed in response to the next state change or the like. For an electrical switch, it is easy to recognize it by using the current flowing through the switch, but for an optical switch, the means for detecting the optical signal is expensive, and the optical signal generated by the optical signal branch is used. Loss becomes a problem. It is also possible to recognize the switching state by detecting the exciting current of the coil 18 of the electromagnetic drive system. However, in the above-mentioned self-holding type optical switch, it is necessary to store the switching state. Occurs. That is, a storage circuit for storing the switching state corresponding to the optical switch is required. An object of the present invention is to economically recognize a switching state of a movable optical fiber.

[0007]

The optical switch of the present invention comprises:
Referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of fixed optical fibers 1,
In the optical switch that moves the end surface of the movable optical fiber 3 so as to face any one of the end surfaces 2, the conductive film 4 is formed on the outer periphery of the movable optical fiber 3 in the vicinity of the tip. Electrodes 5 and 6 which are short-circuited by the conductive film 4 when facing one of the end faces of the fixed optical fibers 1 and 2 are provided. Reference numeral 7 indicates a container such as glass, and 8 indicates a control circuit.

[0008]

The movable optical fiber 3 is moved by an electromagnetic drive system, an electrostrictive drive system, or the like so as to face one of the end faces of the plurality of fixed optical fibers 1 and 2. A conductive film 4 is provided near the tip of the movable optical fiber 3, and electrodes 5 and 6 that are short-circuited by the conductive film 4 are provided. In the case shown, the electrodes 5 and 6 are short-circuited when the end surface of the movable optical fiber 3 is switched to face the end surface of the fixed optical fiber 2.
On the contrary, when the end face of the movable optical fiber 3 is switched to face the end face of the fixed optical fiber 1, the electrodes 5 and 6 are not short-circuited. Therefore, when the electrodes 5 and 6 are short-circuited, the control circuit 8 can determine that the movable optical fiber 3 is switched and connected to the fixed optical fiber 2. On the contrary, when the electrodes 5 and 6 are not short-circuited, it can be determined that the movable optical fiber 3 is switch-connected to the fixed optical fiber 1.

[0009]

1 is an explanatory view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the embodiment of the present invention. In each figure, 1 and 2 are fixed optical fibers, 3 are movable optical fibers, and 4
Is a conductive film, 5 and 6 are electrodes, 7 is a container, and 8 is a control circuit, and the drive system of the movable optical fiber 3 is not shown.

The fixed optical fibers 1 and 2 are fixed to opposite corners in a cavity having a square cross section in the container 7, and the movable optical fiber 3 is one of the end faces of the fixed optical fibers 1 and 2. Driven by a drive system (not shown) so as to face the fixed optical fibers 1 and 2 using the corners as guides.
Is positioned with respect to the end face of the. A conductive film 4 is formed near the tip of the movable optical fiber 3, and electrodes 5 and 6 short-circuited by the conductive film 4 are formed in the container 7.

The conductive film 4 and the electrodes 5 and 6 can be formed of, for example, gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu) or the like. In particular, the conductive film 4 is selected from a material that does not peel off from the movable optical fiber 3, and the forming means thereof may be plating, vapor deposition, or the like, depending on the material. It is also possible to form the conductive film 4 on the magnetic body 17 shown in FIG. Further, the thickness of the conductive film 4 is selected in consideration of contact resistance, durability and the like. It is also possible to hermetically seal the inside of the container 7 and fill it with an inert gas to suppress an increase in contact resistance due to oxidation of the conductive film 4 and the electrodes 5 and 6.

The electrodes 5 and 6 show the case where the container 7 is divided into two and the connection terminals are led out on both sides, but it is also possible to lead the connection terminals in the longitudinal direction of the container 7. That is, the connection terminals can be led out by extending the electrodes 5 and 6 to the lead-out side of the fixed optical fibers 1 and 2 or the lead-out side or both sides of the movable optical fiber 3. The outer shape of the container 7 has a square cross section, but as shown in FIG. 3, it may have a circular cross section or another shape.

When the movable optical fiber 3 is moved so as to face the end face of the fixed optical fiber 2 below, the conductive film 4 short-circuits the electrodes 5 and 6. When the movable optical fiber 3 is moved so as to face the end surface of the fixed optical fiber 1 above, the electrodes 5 and 6 are not short-circuited. Therefore, the control circuit 8 reads the short circuit and the release between the electrodes 5 and 6 as needed even if the switching state of the optical switch is not stored. It can be recognized that the movable optical fiber 3 is switched to the fixed optical fiber 1 side when switched to the fiber 2 side and in the released state.

Further, electrodes similar to the electrodes 5 and 6 are provided on the fixed optical fiber 1 side by shifting their positions, and a conductive film similar to the conductive film 4 of the movable optical fiber 3 is provided by being extended or displaced and fixed. The state where the movable optical fiber 3 is switched to the optical fiber 1 side can be recognized as a short-circuit state between the electrodes 5 and 6 and different electrodes. That is, electrodes can be provided corresponding to the fixed optical fiber.

It is also possible to construct a plurality of optical switches in a single container, which makes it possible to construct, for example, a matrix switch, and the switching states of the optical switches corresponding to the intersections of the matrix can be set. It can be easily recognized in the control circuit. The case where the fixed optical fibers 1 and 2 are fixed to the opposite corners of the cavity having a square cross section of the container 7 is shown. The fixed optical fibers are fixed to the four corners, respectively, and the movable optical fiber 3 is When switching is performed by the drive system so as to face any one of the end faces, the movable optical fiber 3 is switched to any of the four fixed optical fibers by providing the electrodes corresponding to the fixed optical fibers as described above. It is possible to easily recognize whether or not the switching state is set.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, the conductive film 4 is formed on the outer periphery of the movable optical fiber 3 near the tip, and the electrodes 5 and 6 short-circuited by the conductive film 4 are provided. The state in which the end face of the movable optical fiber 3 is switched to face the end face of any one of the plurality of fixed optical fibers 1 and 2 can be recognized by the short-circuited and released states of the electrodes 5 and 6. Therefore, a memory circuit or the like is not necessary, and the switching state of the optical switch can be recognized with a simple and economical structure, which is advantageous in that it can be applied to various applications.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 fixed optical fiber 3 movable optical fiber 4 conductive film 5, 6 electrode 7 container 8 control circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An optical switch for moving an end face of a movable optical fiber (3) so as to face an end face of any one of a plurality of fixed optical fibers (1) and (2), wherein the movable optical fiber ( 3) A conductive film (4) is formed on the outer periphery in the vicinity of the tip, and when the movable optical fiber (3) faces any one end face of the plurality of fixed optical fibers (1) and (2), the conductive film is formed. An optical switch comprising electrodes (5), (6) short-circuited by a film (4).