Loading patent…
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorsCheng-Chung Huang, Steven Saeed Nasiri, Randall Brian Sprague, Alex Harwit, Dmitry Vasily Bakin, Janusz Bryzek
Estimating the term…
Methods of calibrating and operating optical switches as well as optical switches in which the orientations of mirrors are measured and controlled using control light beams and position sensing detectors are described. The present invention may provide high resolution control of a plurality of mirrors in an optical switch and thus allow the optical switch to cross-connect a large number of input and output ports with a low insertion loss.
An optical switch comprising:
An optical switch comprising:
An optical switch comprising:
A method of calibrating an optical switch including a first port, a second port, a first mirror and a second mirror, the method comprising:
A method of operating an optical switch including a first mirror and a second mirror, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Backward citations are indexed for grants only.
Using optical switching: switch and router aspects
Having switching means: control or adjustment details, e.g. calibrating
2D constellations, i.e. with switching elements and switched beams located in a plane: nxM switch, i.e. a regular array of switches elements of…
3D constellations, i.e. with switching elements and switched beams located in a volume: nxM switch, i.e. regular arrays of switches elements of…
Term end not estimated
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical fiber cross-connect switching.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an optical switch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an optical switch in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an optical switch including input and output sensors in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
An optical fiber cross-connect switch in accordance with embodiments of the present invention routes light input through any one of N input ports to any one of P output ports. In a typical optical path through a switch, light entering the switch through an input port is incident on a corresponding first micro-mechanical mirror in a first two dimensional array of micro-mechanical mirrors. The first micro-mechanical mirror, which can be oriented in a range of arbitrary directions (dθ,dφ), is tilted to direct the light to a second micro-mechanical mirror in a second two dimensional array of micro-mechanical mirrors. The second micro-mechanical mirror, which can also be oriented in a range of arbitrary directions (dθ,dφ), is tilted to direct the light to a corresponding output port and hence out of the switch.
The light may be switched from the output port to which it is initially directed to another output port by reorienting the first micro-mechanical mirror to direct the light to a third micro-mechanical mirror in the second array of micro-mirrors, and orienting the third micro-mechanical mirror to direct the light to its corresponding output port. A control system is provided to control the orientations of the micro-mechanical mirrors and thus accomplish the switching. A number of embodiments will be described in which the orientations of the various micro-mechanical mirrors are measured and controlled by reflecting light beams (separate from those being routed through and switched by the optical fiber switch) from the micro-mechanical mirrors and measuring the locations at which the reflected light beams are incident on position sensing detectors.
Although the number of input ports equals the number of output ports (N=P) in the embodiments described below, in other embodiments N<P or N>P.