Optical Switch Tutorial from FiberStore

What is an Optical Switch?

Optical Switch is a switch that enables signals in optical fibers or integrated optical circuits (IOCs) to be selectively switched from one circuit to another in telecommunication. Away from telecom, an optical switch is the unit that actually switches light between fibers, and a photonic switch is one that does this by exploiting nonlinear material properties to steer light (i.e., to switch wavelengths or signals within a given fiber).

An optical switch may operate by mechanical means, such as physically shifting an optical fiber to drive one or more alternative fibers, or by electro-optic effects, magneto-optic effects, or other methods. Slow optical switches, such as those using moving fibers, may be used for alternate routing of an optical switch transmission path, such as routing around a fault. Fast optical switches, such as those using electro-optic or magneto-optic effects, may be used to perform logic operations; also included in this category are semiconductor optical amplifiers, which are optoelectronic devices that can be used as optical switches and be integrated with discrete or integrated microelectronic circuits.
(Reference: WIKIPEDIA)


Optical Switching Technology

Optical switching technology as an important foundation for all-optical communication network technology, its development and application will greatly affect the development direction of future optical communication networks. So, how does it work?

Optical signals are multiplexed in three ways, space division, time division, and WDM. The corresponding optical switching methods space division switching, time division switching and wave division switching to complete the three multiplexed channels.

Space Division Switching

It is the domain swap space on the optical signal, the basic functional components of the spatial light switch. Spatial light switch is the principle of optical switching components gate array switch can be in any of the multiple input multiple output fiber established path. It can constitute an empty spectroscopic switching unit, and other types of switches can also together constitute a time-division switching unit or wave stars. Empty spectral switches generally have both fiber-based and space-based space division switching is a division of swap space.

Time Division Switching

This multiplexed signal multiplexing method is a communication network, a channel is divided into a number of different time slots, each optical path signal distribution occupy different time slots, a baseband channel to fit the high-speed optical data stream transmission. Need to use time division switching time slot interchange. The time slot interchanger of the input signal is sequentially written to the optical buffer, and then read out in accordance with established order, thus achieving a one frame at any one time slot exchange to another time slot and outputs completed the timing exchange program. Usually bistable lasers can be used as an optical buffer, but it is only the bit output, and can not meet the demand of high-speed switching and large capacity. While the optical fiber delay line is a more time-division switching device, the time-division-multiplexed signal light input to the optical splitter, so that each of its output channels are only a light signal of the same timeslot, then these signals combined through different optical delay line, after a signal of the type of delay line to obtain a different time delay, the final combination fits before the signals are multiplexed with the original signal, thereby completing a time-division switching.

Wave Division Switching

Ships in WDM systems, the source and destination are required to transmit signals using the same wavelength, such as non-multiplexed so multiplexed in wavelength division multiplexing technology is widely used in the optical transmission system, each multiplex terminal using additional multiplexers, thus increasing system cost and complexity. In the WDM system, wave spectral exchange in the intermediate transmission nodes, to meet no additional devices to achieve wavelength division multiplexing system source and destination communicate with each other, and you can save system resources, improve resource utilization rate. Wave spectroscopic switching system first lightwave signal demultiplexer is divided into plural wave splitting is required to exchange the wavelength channels in each channel wavelength switching the last signal obtained after multiplexing composed of a dense wave division multiplexing signal from an optical output, which take advantage of the characteristics of the fiber-optic broadband, low-loss band multiplexing multiple optical signals, greatly improving the utilization of the Fiber Channel, to improve the communication system capacity.

There are also hybrid switching technologies which are used in large-scale communication network in a variety of the optical path switching technology a mixture of multi-level link connection. In large-scale networks need to be multi-channel signal splitter and then access different link, making the advantages of wavelength division multiplexing can not play, so using wavelength division multiplexing technology levels connecting link, and then space division switching technology used in all levels of link exchange to complete the interface between the link, finally destination and then wave of the exchange of technical output corresponding optical signals, signal combined final sub output. Mixed-use switching technology time mixed, air separation - after midnight - wavelength division mixed several minutes - hours of mixing, air separation - wavelength division.

All-Optical Network Switching Technology

To realize the all optical network switching, the first is to use the circuit switch based optical add-drop multiplexing (OADM) and OXC (optical cross connect) technology to achieve wavelength switching, and then further realization of optical packed switching.

Wavelength switching is based on wavelength in units of optical circuit switched domain, wavelength switching optical signals to provide end-to-end routing and wavelength assignment channel. Wavelength switching key is to use the corresponding network node equipment, optical add-drop multiplexing optical cross-connect. Optical add-drop multiplexing the working principle is based on all-optical network nodes drop and insert the required wavelength path. Its main constituent elements of the multiplexer reconciliation multiplexer, as well as optical switches and tunable harmonic, etc.. Optical add-drop multiplexing of the working principle and the synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) multiplexer separate interpolation function is similar, but in the time domain, while the other is acting in the optical domain. The optical cross-connect and the synchronous digital system digital cross-connect (DXC) similar effect, but to achieve the cross-connection to the passage in the wavelength at which the optical network node.

Optical wavelength to exchange essentially took office contingent is not efficient optical switching, connection-oriented attribute it established wavelength channel re-distribution to achieve maximum utilization efficiency can not be achieved, even if the communication is idle. Optical packet switching can be implemented with a minimum switching granularity multiplexing of bandwidth resources, improve the communication efficiency of the optical network. Optical packet switching is generally light and transparent packet-switched (OTPS), optical burst switching (OBS) and optical label switching (OMPLS). The optical the transparent packet switching characteristics is the packet length is fixed, the use of synchronous switching manner, the need for all input packets are synchronized in time, thus increasing the technical difficulty and increase the use of cost. The transmission optical burst the use of a variable-length packet data transfer header control information and separated in time and space, to overcome the shortcomings of the synchronization time, but it is possible to generate the packet loss problem. Optical label switching is carried out to add a tag in the IP packet in the core network access re-packet, and the routing method according to the tag inside the core network.

Although optical switching communication occasion require a higher (generally more than 10Gbps) is more suitable for lower transmission costs and greater system capacity can be achieved; via digital transmission rate when the system requirements require a lower transmission rate (2.5Gbps or less), the connection configuration more flexible access may be more appropriate to use the old-fashioned way of photoelectric conversion. Therefore, the practical application of the current should be selected according to the application scenarios appropriate system deployment.

With the future communication network technology development and all-optical network, optical switching technology will be more innovative and more efficient ways for communication network photochemical contribute to become an important part of social development and people's lives.

Types of Optical Switches

Optical switches can be divided into mechanical and non-mechanical ones according to the driving methods.

Mechanical optical switch relies on the movement of optical fiber or optical elements to convert the optical path, such as a mobile optical fiber type, moving the sleeve to move the lens (including mirrors, prisms and self-focusing lens) types. The biggest advantage of this kind of optical switch is a low insertion loss and low crosstalk. Its disadvantage is slow and easy to wear, easy to vibration, impact shocks.

Non-mechanical optical switch relies electro-optic, magneto-optic, thermo-optic and other effects to change the refractive index of the optical waveguide, the optical path changes, such as electro-optic switch, magneto-optic switch, and thermo-optic switch. This kind of optical switch has good repeatability, fast switching speed, high reliability, long life and other advantages, and small size, can be monolithically integrated. The disadvantage is that the insertion loss and crosstalk performance is not ideal, which should be improved.
Here are three common optical switches.

Opto-Mechanical Switch
Opto-mechanical switch is the oldest type of optical switch and the most widely deployed at the time. These devices achieve switching by moving fiber or other bulk optic elements by means of stepper motors or relay arms. This causes them to be relatively slow with switching times in the 10-100 ms range. They can achieve excellent reliability, insertion loss, and crosstalk. Usually, opto-mechanical optical switches collimate the optical beam from each input and output fiber and move these collimated beams around inside the device. This allows for low optical loss, and allows distance between the input and output fiber without deleterious effects. These devices have more bulk compared to other alternatives, although new micro-mechanical devices overcome this.

Thermo-Optic Switch

Thermo-optic switches are normally based on waveguides made in polymers or silica. For operation, they rely on the change of refractive index with temperature created by a resistive heater placed above the waveguide. Their slowness does not limit them in current applications.

Electro-Optic Switch

These are typically semiconductor-based, and their operation depends on the change of refractive index with electric field. This characteristic makes them intrinsically high-speed devices with low power consumption. However, neither the electro-optic nor thermo-optic optical switches can yet match the insertion loss, backreflection, and long-term stability of opto-mechanical optical switches. The latest technology incorporates all-optical switches that can cross-connect fibers without translating the signal into the electrical domain. This greatly increases switching speed, allowing today's telcos and networks to increase data rates. However, this technology is only now in development, and deployed systems cost much more than systems that use traditional opto-mechanical switches.

Optical Switch Protection System for DWDM Network Security

Optical switch protection system for the security of communication network provides a set of economic, practical solutions, the formation of a non-blocking, high reliability, flexible, anti-disaster ability of the optical communication network. Optical switch protection system by the automatic switching and network management stations, you can achieve light switch protection, monitoring and the optical path of the optical power emergency dispatch three main functions.

DWDM system in the trunk and local fiber optic transmission network has a large number of applications. Due to the amount of traffic carried by focus on the importance of safety more and more attention in the event of full resistance will affect all business network hosted. The DWDM network security has always been the most important in the transmission maintenance work. However, DWDM protection technology by its own limitations, has problems such as not flexible, large investment, and the effect is not ideal. Then the optical switch protection technology comes to play a very important role in the DWDM network security.

The optical switch protection system switching control module is a set of optical switches, optical power monitoring, stable light source monitoring in one of the high level of integration modules. Optical power monitoring module and optical switch control module coordination, selection of splitting ratio of 97:3 is more appropriate on the trunk, the equivalent of approximately 0.2dB attenuation on the transmission line; optical switching module contains 1x2 or 2x2 optical switch, controlled by the switch between the main and backup light routing operation.

Real-time monitoring of the optical power monitoring module communication optical fiber optical power value reported to the main control module; analysis and comparison of the main control module, found that the change in value of the optical power exceeds a preset threshold switching immediately issued instructions to the optical switch module; optical switch module by the Directive instantly switching action has occurred. In order to achieve a switching operation.

The optical path automatically switch protective equipment involved in trunk transmission system did not affect the transmission characteristics. In fact, switching equipment involved in the optical switch and splitter only two passive optical devices.

One end of the switching unit is connected to the transceiver of the transmission system, the main fiber optic cable and the spare cable, respectively connected to two output terminals of the 2x2 optical switch. When the optical path occurs when the optical power is abnormal, the optical switch is automatically switched to the alternate route.

It is understood that the optical switch protection system has the following advantages. Fast switching speed, the optical switch switching speed ships 5ms, plus system analysis, the response time of a single-ended switching time of less than 20ms, the switching time of less than 50ms for the entire system, the basic switching operation can be done without interrupting the communication, to achieve business grade level of protection.

Switching, high reliability, implemented through the optical power monitoring, to avoid false alarm of the optical frame, ensure switched judgment is correct. The spare fiber routing monitoring, to ensure the validity of the switch, and continue to be monitored after switching optical path.

Emergency dispatch function, simply switching command issued from the program, you can deploy routing to facilitate the realization of the non-blocking cutover and line maintenance work. The switch device for a transmission system is transparent, i.e. the switching device does not require the type of transmission system can use either SDH or DWDM.

The optical switch protection DWDM is an economical and safe a line protection method, but the the light automatic protection system intervention to DWDM systems, there are many issues to consider. Splitter 97:3 spectral, optical switching device insertion loss is about 2 dB intervention light switching device, the system has an additional two-fiber jumper whose fiber insertion loss is estimated as 1 dB, so the whole switching device Interventional theoretically maximum will bring 3dB attenuation, and many cases of practical use only in 1.5-2.5dB.

Optical automatic switching system for the DWDM line protection is both safe and economical means of protection. The future, as the size of the network continues to expand, optical switch protection systems will play a more important role to meet the requirements of the assessment indicators, to improve the safety of operation of the transmission network.

FiberStore's Optical Switch Solution

FiberStore's optical switches are based on Opto-Mechanical technology with proven reliability and available as optical switch 1x1, 1x2, 2x2 Non-Latching, Latching, Single-mode, Multimode versions. Besides these high performance Opto-Mechanical switch solutions, if you want to buy the other types such as thermo-optic and electro-optic ones, please contact the sales for special Custom Service.

Available Configuration

1X1 Mechanical              1X2 Mechanical

1X4 Mechanical              1X8 Mechanical

1X16 Mechanical            2X2 Mechanical

2X2B Mechanical            2X2BA Mechanical

D1X2 Mechanical            D2X2 Mechanical

D2X2B Mechanical

Available Mode

Single-mode

Multimode

Available Control Model

Latching

Non-lantching