WO2004068209A1 - Commutateur optique autobloquant - Google Patents

Commutateur optique autobloquant Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2004068209A1
WO2004068209A1 PCT/JP2004/000705 JP2004000705W WO2004068209A1 WO 2004068209 A1 WO2004068209 A1 WO 2004068209A1 JP 2004000705 W JP2004000705 W JP 2004000705W WO 2004068209 A1 WO2004068209 A1 WO 2004068209A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
movable block
optical fiber
optical
plane
open end
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/JP2004/000705
Other languages
English (en)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
Akira Tanaka
Masaru Suzuki
Original Assignee
Hitachi Metals,Ltd.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Hitachi Metals,Ltd. filed Critical Hitachi Metals,Ltd.
Publication of WO2004068209A1 publication Critical patent/WO2004068209A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
    • G02B6/35—Optical coupling means having switching means
    • G02B6/351—Optical coupling means having switching means involving stationary waveguides with moving interposed optical elements
    • G02B6/3512—Optical coupling means having switching means involving stationary waveguides with moving interposed optical elements the optical element being reflective, e.g. mirror
    • G02B6/3514—Optical coupling means having switching means involving stationary waveguides with moving interposed optical elements the optical element being reflective, e.g. mirror the reflective optical element moving along a line so as to translate into and out of the beam path, i.e. across the beam path
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
    • G02B6/35—Optical coupling means having switching means
    • G02B6/351—Optical coupling means having switching means involving stationary waveguides with moving interposed optical elements
    • G02B6/3512—Optical coupling means having switching means involving stationary waveguides with moving interposed optical elements the optical element being reflective, e.g. mirror
    • G02B6/352—Optical coupling means having switching means involving stationary waveguides with moving interposed optical elements the optical element being reflective, e.g. mirror the reflective optical element having a shaped reflective surface, e.g. a reflective element comprising several reflective surfaces or facets that function together
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
    • G02B6/35—Optical coupling means having switching means
    • G02B6/354—Switching arrangements, i.e. number of input/output ports and interconnection types
    • G02B6/3544—2D constellations, i.e. with switching elements and switched beams located in a plane
    • G02B6/3548—1xN switch, i.e. one input and a selectable single output of N possible outputs
    • G02B6/355—1x2 switch, i.e. one input and a selectable single output of two possible outputs
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
    • G02B6/35—Optical coupling means having switching means
    • G02B6/3564—Mechanical details of the actuation mechanism associated with the moving element or mounting mechanism details

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an optical switch mainly used for switching optical paths in the optical communication field.
  • optical switches When optical switches are classified according to the switching method, there are a method of electrically or optically changing the refractive index and phase of the optical path to switch the traveling direction of light, and a method of mechanically moving the optical path to switch the traveling direction of light. is there.
  • Mechanical optical switches not only have the advantages of low insertion loss and low crosstalk, but also can easily realize a self-holding type that maintains the switched state if no drive power for switching is supplied. , Many are used.
  • the purpose of optical path switching is not only for line switching, but also for maintenance and inspection purposes where a disconnected transmission path is switched to another path.
  • An optical switch is composed of a combination of multiple basic 1 X 2 optical switches, such as 1 XN (N is a natural number) optical switch, matrix switch, etc., or together with other components in the optical component module. It is used by being incorporated in.
  • a 1 XN optical switch is packaged by connecting (N-1) 1 X 2 optical switches, so that the package containing the 1 XN optical switch becomes large, making it difficult to reduce the size.
  • the matrix switch has a large number of channels, such as 32 ⁇ 32, so that even if the individual 1 ⁇ 2 optical switches are small, the matrix switch as a whole becomes large.
  • an optical switch when inserted into an optical component module, a plurality of optical switches are combined with other optical components in a case of a predetermined size. Subject to size constraints to fit together.
  • a 1XN optical switch, a matrix switch, an optical component module, or the like is configured with a mechanical optical switch, it is important to reduce the size of the basic 1X2 mechanical optical switch.
  • An optical communication device is configured by combining a plurality of optical devices.However, if the insertion loss of each optical device is large, the insertion loss increases and the signal decreases, so each optical device including an optical switch Requires a reduction in import loss.
  • a mechanical optical switch a movable block that holds the output optical fiber because a slight shift in the position where the light beam emitted from the input optical fiber is coupled to the output optical fiber leads to an increase in insertion loss. The stop position must be very accurate.
  • a mechanical optical switch is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3,382,209. This outline is shown in a cross-sectional view in FIG. 10 using the mechanism section of the 2 ⁇ 4 optical switch.
  • the movable side (input) optical fiber 1321 and the fixed side (output) optical fiber 1322 have a gap of about 10 / m between their open ends. Hold and face.
  • a fixed block 332 is held near the open end of the fixed-side optical fiber 1322.
  • the movable-side optical fiber 321 is held by a support block 326 at a position distant from its open end, and a movable block 334 is held near its open end.
  • the fixed block 3 3 2 and the movable block 3 3 4 are made of a soft magnetic material, and these two blocks 3 3 2 and 3 3 4 are arranged at an interval of several 100 ⁇ m. I have.
  • the movable block 3 3 4 is moved in parallel with the fixed block 3 3 2 by the electromagnetic actuator 350 to move the movable side optical fiber 3 2 1 and the fixed side optical fiber 1 3 Switch the optical path between 2 and 2.
  • the electromagnetic actuator 350 includes a yoke 3552 having an almost E-shape, coils 3772a and 3772b wound on the legs at both ends of the yoke, and permanent magnets 3664 and It consists of a fixed block 3 32.
  • One end of the guide bin 382 is slidably inserted into the oblong groove 383 formed in the movable block 334 of the soft magnetic material.
  • the other end of the dobin 382 is fixed to a fixed block 332 made of a soft magnetic material.
  • the movable area of the movable block 334 is defined by the width of the oval groove 383 into which the guide bin 382 is inserted.
  • the shape and the position of the oblong groove 383 in which the movable block 3 3 4 into which the guide bin 3822 is inserted are made with high accuracy with a tolerance of / Xm unit or less. By manufacturing them with high precision, even if the movable optical fiber moves and the optical path is switched, highly accurate positioning with the fixed optical fiber becomes possible, and the insertion loss can be reduced.
  • the movable optical fiber 3 2 1 moves to the position indicated by the solid line. It is in.
  • a current flows from a power supply (not shown) to one coil 3 72 a in a direction to weaken the magnetic flux in one leg of the yoke 3 52, for example.
  • a current is applied to the other coil 3 7 2 b in a direction to increase the magnetic flux in the other leg of the yoke 3 52, the movable block 3 3 4 is attracted to the coil 3 7 2 b side and moves.
  • the side optical fiber 3221 moves to the position shown by the broken line, and the movable block 3334 is held at that position even when the current is cut off.
  • the movable block 3334 is attracted to the coil 3772a, and the movable optical fiber 3 21 is switched to the position shown by the solid line and held.
  • the position of the movable block 334 can be switched by changing the direction of the current flowing through the coils 372a and 372b. After the movable block 334 moves, it is held at the moved position by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 365 acting through the yoke 3552 even when the current is cut off.
  • the movable optical fiber 1321 is used as a part of a support member of the movable block 334. If the length of the movable-side optical fiber is too short, the curvature of the movable-side optical fiber at the stop position increases, which causes an increase in insertion loss. Therefore, it was difficult to further reduce the size.
  • a 1 ⁇ 2 optical switch that switches the optical path using prism movement is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-26221, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5 discloses a 1 ⁇ 2 optical switch that switches an optical path using V-groove mirror movement.
  • a mechanical optical switch with this structure an input optical fiber and an output optical fiber are arranged on the same surface at a certain distance, and an optical reflector provided opposite the open end of the optical fiber is moved by an electromagnetic actuator. And switch the light path.
  • Input optical fiber The light beam that exits from the mirror is reflected twice by a light reflector such as a V-groove mirror or prism, and the light is switched to the optical path by selectively coupling the light beam to one of the two output optical fibers. It is a switch.
  • the optical fiber can be arranged on only one of the electromagnetic actuators. If the light reflector is moved to switch the optical path, there is no need to move and bend the optical fiber and the length of the fiber is long. Since there is no restriction on the size, there is an advantage that the size can be easily reduced.
  • FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operating principle of a 1 ⁇ 2 optical switch utilizing the movement of a V-groove mirror.
  • the 1 ⁇ 2 optical switch is composed of an input optical fiber 4 2 1, an output optical fiber 4 2 2 a, 4 2 2 b and a V-groove mirror 4 3 6.
  • the angle between the two light reflecting surfaces 437a and 437b of the V-groove mirror 436 is approximately 90 °.
  • the input optical fiber 1 4 1 and the output optical fiber 1 4 2 a and 4 2 b are arranged with their open ends arranged at regular intervals in the same plane.
  • the V-groove mirror 4 36 When the V-groove mirror 4 36 is located at the position shown by the solid line, the light emitted from the input optical fiber 4 2 1 is reflected from the light reflecting surface 4 3 7 b to the light reflecting surface 4 3 as shown by the solid line arrow. The light is reflected at 7a, the optical path is inverted, and the light is coupled to the output optical fiber 422a.
  • the V-groove mirror 436 is moved to the position shown by the broken line using an electromagnetic actuator or the like (not shown), the light exiting from the input optical fiber 421 becomes the optical path as shown by the broken arrow.
  • the light is reflected from the light-reflecting surface 437a to the light-reflecting surface 437b, the optical path is inverted, and the light is coupled to the output optical fiber 142b, so that the output optical fiber 422a and the output optical fiber
  • the optical path can be switched between 1 and 4 2 b.
  • the light beam emitted from the open end of the optical fiber jumps in space while spreading by diffraction.
  • Re-enter another optical fiber In order to efficiently couple one optical fiber to another optical fiber, it is necessary to arrange a lens at the open ends of these optical fibers and to condense the light beam.
  • a lens As the lens, a ball lens, a collimator lens in which an optical fiber and a lens are integrated, a lensed fiber, and the like are generally used.
  • the optical switch using the optical reflector has a structure that can be miniaturized, the required accuracy of the stop position of the optical reflector is strict and the variation in insertion loss is likely to be large. there were. In particular, it was difficult to control the position and attitude when moving the optical reflector, and the insertion loss fluctuated greatly between the optical switches. Disclosure of the invention
  • an object of the present invention is to provide a small self-holding optical switch with little insertion loss fluctuation.
  • An input optical fiber with an open end
  • a first output optical fiber having an open end
  • a second output optical fiber having an open end
  • a fixed block that arranges the open ends of the input optical fiber, the first output optical fiber, and the second output optical fiber, and holds the optical fibers in parallel in a plane;
  • At least a portion is made of a soft magnetic material, has an optical reflector provided opposite to the fixed block, and the optical reflector is connected between the open end of the input optical fiber and the open end of the first output optical fiber.
  • a first position for coupling an optical signal between the first position and an optical reflector whose optical reflector couples an optical signal between the open end of the input optical fiber and the open end of the second output optical fiber.
  • a movable block that can move in a plane parallel to the plane. The movable block is reciprocated between a first position and a second position, and the movable block is movable between the first position and the second position.
  • the movable block comprises: a first movement restricting means for restricting a movement of the movable block between a first position and a second position in the plane parallel to the plane provided with the optical fiber. Second movement restricting means for substantially inhibiting the movement of the movable block in the optical axis direction of the input optical fiber.
  • the electromagnetic actuator is a linear actuator
  • the first and second pole pieces sandwich the movable block between these two paw / repieces so that they can reciprocate
  • a magnetic flux is emitted to the first and second yokes and the movable block, a first magnetic path is formed by the first yoke and the movable block, and a second yoke and the movable block are formed by the second yoke and the movable block.
  • a permanent magnet constituting a second magnetic path
  • a second coil member wound around the second yoke for adjusting magnetic flux between the movable block and the second pole piece may be provided.
  • the first movement restricting means may include a guide pin provided on one of opposing surfaces of the movable block and the fixed block, and a guide pin provided on another surface. Guide,
  • the second movement restricting means may be flexible in a plane in which the movable block can move, and may be rigid in the optical axis direction of the input optical fiber.
  • FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a self-holding optical switch according to a first embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the self-holding optical switch of the first embodiment according to the present invention
  • FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line W-IV in Fig. 2.
  • FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V--V of FIG. 3
  • FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line ⁇ --VI of FIG.
  • FIG. 7 is a view for explaining various postures for installing the self-holding optical switch of the present invention.
  • FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a self-holding optical switch according to a second embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a 2 ⁇ 4 optical fiber one-drive optical switch.
  • FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation principle of the 1 ⁇ 2 optical switch using the movement of the V-groove mirror, and
  • Fig. 12 shows a self-holding optical switch using a conventional flat V-groove mirror.
  • Embodiment 1 of a self-holding optical switch according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
  • the self-holding optical switch 100 has a housing 110 in which an input optical fiber 121 and an output optical fiber 122, a 122 b are arranged in a plane with open ends arranged side by side. Are held in parallel within.
  • a V-groove mirror 1 36 is provided facing the open end of the optical fiber, and the V-groove mirror 1 36 is connected to the open end of the input optical fiber 1 2 1 and one of the output optical fibers 1 2 2 a ( A first position for transmitting (coupling) an optical signal between the open end of the first optical fiber and the open end of the input optical fiber.
  • the housing 110 can be combined with a box-shaped bottom half 1 1 1 and an upper half 1 1 2, and houses an optical switch mechanism therein.
  • the input optical fiber 1 2 1 and the output optical fiber 1 1 2 2 a, 1 2 2 enter the housing 110 through a groove formed in the housing wall. It is assumed that three optical fibers are lined up .
  • the optical switch mechanism After attaching the optical switch mechanism to the board 1 1 5 (for example, a glass plate) on the bottom of the bottom half of the housing 1 1 1 (for example, a glass plate), assemble the top half of the housing 1 1 2 on top of it
  • the bottom half 1 1 1 and the top half 1 1 2 are fixed with an epoxy or other adhesive, and the groove passing through the optical fiber 1 is sealed with an epoxy or other adhesive.
  • An index matching agent is injected into the housing through an injection hole (not shown) formed in the upper portion of the housing 110, and the entire optical switch mechanism is immersed in the index matching agent to open the optical fiber at the open end and the V-groove.
  • a refractive index matching agent can be interposed between the mirror and the mirror.
  • FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a self-holding optical switch 100 in which an upper half 1 1 2 is assembled on a housing bottom half 1 1 1 having an optical switch mechanism therein and fixed with an adhesive.
  • FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view at the center of the optical switch mechanism.
  • Figure 3 shows
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line m-m of FIG. 2, and shows the structure of the electromagnetic actuator 150, the positional relationship between the optical fibers 122, 122a, 122b and the V-groove mirror 136.
  • FIG. 4 is a sectional view of FIG. 2 taken along the line IV—IV, showing a fixed block 126, a movable block 134, a support block 191 and a first block provided between them to restrict movement. The figure shows the relationship between the guide bin 182 and the oval guide hole 183 that function as the movement restricting means, and the two optical fibers 186 that function as the second movement restricting means.
  • FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG.
  • FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 3, showing the fixing block 126, the optical fibers 1 121, 122a, 122b and the guide pins 182 fixed thereto. .
  • the optical fibers 121, 122a, 122b are fixed to a fixed block 126 mounted on a substrate 115 near their open ends.
  • the fixed block 126 is made of soft magnetic ceramic single crystal Mn-Zn ferrite, and three V-grooves with a depth of 125 ⁇ are formed at 250 jm intervals on one surface of the fixed block 126 to input light.
  • Fiber 121 is placed in the center V-groove, and output optical fibers 122a and 122b are installed in the V-grooves on both sides so as to sandwich input optical fiber 121.
  • the three optical fibers 121, 122a, and 122b are held on one surface of the fixed block 126 so that their open ends are aligned in a straight line.
  • Optical fiber in V-groove 1 The power glass 12 9 is placed on 21, 122 a and 122 b, and the cover glass 129 is adhesively fixed to the fixing block 126.
  • a V-groove mirror 136 is provided to face the open ends of the optical fibers 121, 122a, 122b via the microphone lens of the microphone lens array 128.
  • the V-groove mirror 1336 formed a 90.03 ° V-groove in silicon by etching, and the inside of the V-groove was used as a reflection surface.
  • the V-groove mirror 136 is provided on a mirror-supporting block 135 made of single crystal Mn—Zn ferrite, which is a soft magnetic ceramic, and the mirror-supporting block 135 and the V-groove mirror 13 6 constitutes a movable block 134.
  • the movable block 134 that is, the V-groove mirror 133 moves the substrate 115 relatively between the fixed block 126 and the open end of the optical fiber between the first position and the second position. Reciprocate.
  • the V-groove mirror 1336 When the V-groove mirror 1336 is in the first position, the optical signal output from the input optical fiber 121 propagates to the open end of the output optical fiber 122a, and the V-groove mirror 1336 In the second position, the optical signal output from the input optical fiber 1121 propagates to the open end of the output optical fiber 122b. Thus, the optical path is switched.
  • the reciprocating motion of the movable block with respect to the open end of the optical fiber is performed between the first position and the second position in a plane parallel to the plane provided with the optical fibers 121, 122a and 122b. Need to be done between. Also, it is necessary to keep the distance between the movable block (V-groove mirror) and the open end of the optical fiber substantially unchanged. Therefore, the movable block is provided with first movement restricting means for restricting the movement of the movable block between the first position and the second position in a plane parallel to the plane in which the optical fiber is provided; Second movement restricting means for substantially prohibiting the movement of the movable block in the optical axis direction of the optical fiber.
  • a microphone aperture lens array 128 is attached to the open end of the input / output optical fiber of the fixed block 126.
  • the micro lens array 128 is made of silicon, and three lenses are provided at a position corresponding to the open end of the input / output optical fiber at intervals of 250 ⁇ . ing. Since the center of each lens coincides with the center of each optical fiber, and the micro lens array 128 is bonded and fixed to the fixed block 126, even if the optical path passes through space, optical signals with little loss It is possible to communicate. However, since the microphone lens array is not essential in the present invention, the microphone lens array is excluded from the following description.
  • the movable block 134 constitutes a part of the electromagnetic actuator 150, which is driven by the electromagnetic actuator 150.
  • the electromagnetic actuator 150 has an E-shaped yoke 152 as shown in cross section in FIG. 3, and the E-shaped yoke 152 has two end legs 15 2 a, 15 2 b and a center. It has legs 15 2 c.
  • the E-shaped yoke 15 2 has a back yoke 15 2 d, and one end leg 15 2 a from one end of the pack yoke 15 2 d faces the side surface of the soft magnetic material movable block 1 3 4 It extends to the position where it does.
  • each end leg 15 2 a, 15 2 b has a pole piece 15 4 a, 15 4 b facing the side of the movable block 13 4.
  • the one end leg 15 2 a and the half of the back yoke 15 2 d on the end leg side can be collectively referred to as a first yoke.
  • the other end leg 152b and the half of the back yoke 152d on the end leg side can be collectively referred to as a second yoke.
  • the pole piece 15 5 a attached to one end leg 15 2 a is the first pole piece
  • the pole piece 15 5 b attached to the other end leg 15 2 b is the second Can be called a pole piece.
  • the movable block 1 3 4 can be moved back and forth between the first and second pole pieces 1 5 4 a and 1 5 4 so that the first pole piece 1 5 4 a and the movable block 1 3 4 There is a gap between one side surface and a gap between the second pole piece 1554b and the other side surface of the movable block 1334.
  • the center leg 15 2 c attached to the back yoke 15 2 d of the E-shaped yoke 15 2 is provided with a permanent magnet 16 4 and a soft magnetic block 13 2, and the center leg 15 2 c is provided to the movable block 1 34.
  • the permanent magnet 16 4 is magnetized from the soft magnetic block 13 2 toward the back yoke 15 2 d or in the opposite direction. Have been.
  • the permanent magnet 164 can be, for example, a neodymium iron boron sintered permanent magnet. Part of the magnetic flux from the permanent magnet 16 4 enters one end leg 15 2 a via the back yoke 15 2 d. After that, it enters the soft magnetic material movable block 1 34 via the first pole piece 1 54 a.
  • the permanent magnet 16 4 the first half of the back yoke 15 2 d, one end leg 15 2 a, the first pole piece 15 4 a, the movable block 13 4, and the soft magnetic block 1 32 constitutes a first magnetic path.
  • a part of the magnetic flux from the permanent magnet 164 enters the other end leg 152b via the knock yoke 152d. After that, it enters the soft magnetic movable block 1 34 via the second pole piece 15 4 b. Then, it returns to the permanent magnet 1 64 through the soft magnetic block 1 32.
  • permanent magnet 16 4 second half of pack yoke 15 2 d, other end leg 15 2 b, second pole piece 15 4 b, movable block 13 4, soft magnetic block 1 32 constitutes the second magnetic path.
  • a first coil member 17 2 a and a second coil member 17 2 b are wound around one end leg 15 2 a and the other end leg 15 2 b, respectively.
  • leads are provided from two terminals provided in the housing to each coil member 17 2a.
  • the two terminals are connected to an external power supply (not shown) and external leads 1 16a and 1 16b.
  • the magnetic field generated between the two coil members 17 2 a and 17 2 b when a DC voltage is applied between their terminals between the first coil member 17 2 a and the second coil member 17 2 b Are connected in series so that the directions are reversed.
  • the input optical fiber 1 2 1 becomes the V-groove mirror 1 3 6
  • the optical path is connected to the output optical fiber 1 1 2 2b through the optical path. In this state, even when the current flowing through the coil members 1-172a and 172-2 is cut off, the state where the movable block 1334 is attracted to the second pole piece 1554b by the permanent magnet 1664 is maintained. Is done.
  • the movable block 1 3 4 When the movable block 1 3 4 is attracted to the second pole piece 1 5 4 b, a current is applied to the second coil member 17 2 b to cancel or weaken the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet.
  • a current is applied to the coil member 1 7 2 a to increase the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet, the movable block 1 3 4 moves away from the second pole piece 1 5 4 b and toward the first pole piece 1 5 4 a. Reach the first position.
  • the input optical fiber 1121 is connected to the output optical fiber 122a via the V-groove mirror 133. In this state, the connection is maintained even if the current flowing to the coil member is turned off.
  • the self-holding type optical switch includes a first movement for restricting a movement of the movable block between a first position and a second position in a plane parallel to a plane provided with the optical fiber.
  • a regulating means is provided on the movable block.
  • two oblong guide holes 18 3 provided in the movable block 13 4 as the first movement restricting means, and a fixed block 1 2 6
  • two guide bins 182 which are fixed to the movable block 13 and are respectively engaged with the guide holes 183 of the movable block 134.
  • the guide pin 18 2 is made of a non-magnetic material, for example, a non-magnetic cemented carbide, ceramitas, stainless steel, or the like, and has a cylindrical shape.
  • the two guide bins 182 are fixed in parallel with each other by embedding one end thereof in a fixing block 126.
  • the two guide bins 18 2 are arranged so as to form
  • the fixed block 1 26 has a V-depth of 300 ⁇ m on the surface opposite to the three V-grooves that fix the optical fibers 1 2 1, 1 2 a and 1 2 b. Two grooves are formed.
  • Guide pins (diameter: 300 zm) made of nonmagnetic cemented carbide are inserted into each of the V-grooves with one end protruding, and are adhered and fixed using a cover glass.
  • the guide pin 182 used here has a rigidity of more than 8.5 Kgf in bending force of 0.1 ⁇ m per 100 ⁇ m. I could do it.
  • the other end of the guide bin 18 2 projecting from the fixed block 1 26 is engaged with the guide hole 18 3 of the movable block 13 4.
  • the two guide holes 1 8 3 form a plane parallel to the plane formed on the fixed block 1 2 6 by the optical filters 1 2 1, 1 2 a and 1 2 b,
  • the movement of the movable block 134 is limited to a plane parallel to the plane formed by the three optical fibers.
  • the movable block reciprocates between the first position and the second position by moving the length of the guide hole 183 (length in the horizontal direction in Fig. 5) formed in the movable block 1 34. To match the stroke you want.
  • the width of the guide hole 18 3 (vertical width in Fig. 5) is such that the guide bin 18 2 can freely enter the guide hole and move, but there is almost no gap between it and the guide bin. It is made with high precision.
  • the cross-sectional shape of the guide hole 18 3 is not limited to an oval, but may be a trapezoid or a rectangle.
  • the movement of the movable block is restricted between the first position and the second position in a plane parallel to the plane in which the optical fiber is provided by the first movement restricting means.
  • a gap is provided between the side surface of the movable block and the pole piece.
  • the first movement restricting means only needs to be able to withstand a force of 1.2 kgf in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the movable block. If it cannot withstand a force of 1.2 kgf, the stop position of the movable block or the attitude of the light reflector may fluctuate, and the input loss may increase during use.
  • the movable block of the self-holding optical switch of the present invention has second movement restricting means for substantially inhibiting the movement of the movable block of the input optical fiber toward the optical axis.
  • the second movement restricting means a connection is made between the support block 19 1 fixed to the substrate 1 15 and the movable block 13 4.
  • Two optical fibers are used. Two V-grooves were formed on the bottom surface of the support block 191, and one end of each of two optical fibers (12.5 // m diameter) 1 86 was bonded and fixed to each V-groove. .
  • Two V-grooves are formed at 500 ⁇ m intervals between the two guide holes 18 3 on the surface of the movable block 13 4 where the guide holes 18 3 are formed, and two optical fibers are formed.
  • the other end of each one of 186 was adhesively fixed to each of the V-grooves.
  • the optical fiber 186 is bonded and fixed to the V-groove formed in each of the support block and the movable block, the optical fiber is held down by a cover glass and fixed.
  • the movable block 1 3 4 is easily moved between the first and second positions because the movable block 1 3 4 is maintained at a fixed distance from the support block 19 1 by the optical fiber 1 8 6
  • the optical fiber is not substantially moved in the length direction of the optical fiber 186, that is, in the direction of the fixed block 126 and the direction of the soft magnetic material block 132.
  • the force against the movable block in the direction of the movement connecting the first position and the second position by the second movement restricting means shall be 0.96 ⁇ £ or more and 1.12 gf or less. Is preferred.
  • the elasticity of the optical fiber 186 produces a force that opposes the movable block 134 in the direction of the movement.
  • the force that holds the movable block in the first position or the second position is determined by the magnetic attraction generated by the permanent magnet 164 of the electromagnetic actuator and the optical fiber at the first position or the second position. This is the size obtained by subtracting the elastic force of 6.
  • the movable block switches when the magnetic attraction force caused by the current flowing through the coil member of the electromagnetic actuator exceeds the force held at the stop position of the movable block. For this reason, if the elastic force of the optical fiber 186 is too strong, the holding force decreases. If the elastic force is too weak, the current that needs to flow through the coil member of the electromagnetic actuator to switch the movable block increases.
  • the elastic force of the optical fiber at the stop position of the movable block is less than 0.96 gf, the current required for switching increases, and heat is generated in the electromagnetic actuator.
  • the elastic force of the eye bar 186 exceeds 1.12 gf, the power to hold the movable block will be insufficient, and the optical switch will not be able to withstand impact tests.
  • the force by which the second movement restricting means holds the movable block in the optical axis direction of the input optical fiber need only be 32 gf or more. If the holding force in the optical axis direction is less than 32 gf, the movable block will be attracted to the fixed block and the soft magnetic block, and the distance between the fixed block and the movable block will change, and the insertion loss will change. The insertion loss is stable when the holding force in the optical axis direction at the stop position of the movable block is 32 gf or more.
  • the first movement restricting means it is possible to prevent a change in the stop position of the movable block, that is, the V-groove mirror, and a change in the posture of the movable block, that is, the V-groove mirror, with respect to the fixed block, that is, the input / output optical fiber.
  • the optical signal emitted from the open end of the input optical fiber can be coupled to the output optical fiber with an input loss of less than 0.5 dB.
  • the fluctuation of the stop position at the first position and the second position of the V-groove mirror can be made less than 0.5 / m. Since the variation of the stop position of the V-groove mirror can be made less than 0.5 ⁇ , the insertion loss becomes less than 0.5 dB when an input / output optical fiber having a core diameter of 10 m is used. Further, the inclination and posture of the V-groove mirror surface with respect to one optical axis of the input and output optical fibers can be made less than 0.05 ° by the first movement restricting means. It can be less than 5 dB. '
  • the movement of the movable block becomes smooth. Furthermore, since the distance between the open end of the input / output optical fiber and the V-groove mirror is kept constant, the coupling length between the open ends of the input / output optical fiber, that is, the microphone lens of the microlens array 128. Can be kept at less than 80 ⁇ m, and the variation of the input loss can be made less than 0.5 dB.
  • an optical fiber is used as the second movement restricting means.
  • another material having flexibility in the bending direction and rigidity in the optical axis direction for example, glass fiber or plastic fiber is used. And so on.
  • FIG. 7 shows a modification of the posture when the optical switch is installed.
  • Example 1 Fifty optical switches 100 were fabricated and placed flat as shown in Fig. 7 (A), and the insertion loss was measured. The insertion loss of the 50 optical switches was 0.08-0. It was distributed at 46 dB, and the average was 0.26 dB.
  • FIG. 8 shows a frequency distribution graph of the insertion loss of these 50 self-holding optical switches 10.0. Comparing this frequency distribution graph of insertion loss with the frequency distribution graph of insertion loss of a conventional self-holding optical switch using a V-groove mirror (Fig. 12), it is clear that the self-holding type of Example 1 was used. The insertion loss of the optical switch is reduced.
  • the insertion loss of the optical switch can be reduced.
  • Fig. 7 (B) the insertion loss of the same 50 optical switches measured vertically is 0.09 to 0.47 dB (average 0.27 dB).
  • Fig. 7 (C) the insertion loss measured with the optical switch upside down was 0.08 to 0.47 dB (average 0.26 dB).
  • FIG. 7 (D) the insertion loss measured with the optical switch placed obliquely was 0.07 to 0.48 dB (average 0.27 dB).
  • Fig. 7 (E) with the optical switch placed on its side, the measured insertion loss was 0.08 to 0.47 dB (average 0.27 dB). Changing the placement of the optical switch did not increase the variation in insertion loss.
  • the self-holding optical switch 100 of the first embodiment has the input and output optical fibers 122, 122a and 122b on the same side as viewed from the electromagnetic actuator 150, 2 Omm
  • the optical switch mechanism could be accommodated in the length 110 of the housing.
  • the length of the housing can be reduced to 70% compared to the optical fiber one-drive type optical switch 300 described earlier.
  • FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view showing a self-holding optical switch 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
  • This is a 2 ⁇ 4 optical switch in which a combination of an input optical fiber 1 and an output optical fiber 1 2 2 a and a 1 2 2 b is attached to a fixed block 226 so as to be vertically arranged in two stages.
  • the fixing block 226 has six through-holes in three rows and two rows vertically at an interval of 250 ⁇ , and the input and output fibers 121, 122a, and 122 are bonded and fixed to each through-hole. did.
  • the opening lens array 228 is provided with six rows of three rows horizontally and two rows vertically at an interval of 250 / X m.
  • the microphone aperture lens array 228 was bonded and fixed so that the center of each optical fiber coincided with the center of each lens.
  • Other configurations were the same as in the first embodiment.
  • a 2 ⁇ 4 optical switch having the same dimensions as in the first embodiment was obtained. In other words, two 1X2 optical switches that simultaneously switch two 1X2 optical switches are realized.
  • the variation in insertion loss is as small as 0.5 dB or less, and the length direction can be reduced by 30% as compared with the conventional fiber-driven optical switch.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Light Control Or Optical Switches (AREA)
  • Mechanical Coupling Of Light Guides (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un commutateur optique autobloquant, de petite taille, présentant une faible variation d'affaiblissement d'insertion, servant à la commutation d'un trajet optique par commande d'un réflecteur lumineux. Ce commutateur optique comprend des fibres optiques d'entrée/de sortie maintenant un bloc de manière fixe, les extrémités ouvertes desdites fibres étant parallèles sur un plan, et un bloc mobile qui présente un réflecteur lumineux et peut se déplacer dans un plan parallèle au plan précédent entre une position, dans laquelle le réflecteur injecte un signal optique dans une des fibres optiques de sortie, et une position, dans laquelle le réflecteur lumineux injecte un signal optique dans l'autre fibre optique de sortie. Ce commutateur optique comprend en outre un premier moyen de limitation de mouvement, servant à limiter le mouvement du bloc mobile entre les deux positions mentionnées ci-dessus dans le plan où se trouvent les fibres optiques d'entrée/de sortie, et un deuxième moyen de limitation de mouvement servant à empêcher sensiblement le mouvement du bloc mobile dans la direction parallèle aux axes optiques des fibres optiques. La variation de position du réflecteur lumineux et la variation des distances entre le réflecteur lumineux et les extrémités ouvertes des fibres optiques peuvent être réduites à un niveau très faible. Ainsi, la variation d'affaiblissement d'insertion est inférieure à 0,5 dB.
PCT/JP2004/000705 2003-01-28 2004-01-27 Commutateur optique autobloquant WO2004068209A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2003018786A JP2004264336A (ja) 2003-01-28 2003-01-28 光反射器駆動自己保持型光スイッチ
JP2003-18786 2003-01-28

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WO2004068209A1 true WO2004068209A1 (fr) 2004-08-12

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JP (1) JP2004264336A (fr)
WO (1) WO2004068209A1 (fr)

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS587601A (ja) * 1981-07-07 1983-01-17 Fujitsu Ltd 光スイツチ
JP2001083441A (ja) * 1999-09-09 2001-03-30 Hitachi Cable Ltd 光スイッチ
JP2002090665A (ja) * 2000-09-14 2002-03-27 Hitachi Metals Ltd 光スイッチ

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS587601A (ja) * 1981-07-07 1983-01-17 Fujitsu Ltd 光スイツチ
JP2001083441A (ja) * 1999-09-09 2001-03-30 Hitachi Cable Ltd 光スイッチ
JP2002090665A (ja) * 2000-09-14 2002-03-27 Hitachi Metals Ltd 光スイッチ

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