OPTICAL MEMS SWITCHES

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OPTICAL MEMS SWITCHES


Sercalo’s optical MEMS switches are proposed in single mode, multimode or PM fibers, at wavelengths from 600 μm up to 1600 μm, latching or non-latching. Sercalo offers fiber optic switches with ports count configurations of up to 16 inputs and 16 outputs, based on the highly reliable and proven Sercalo MEMS switches.Get more news about mems optical switch,you can vist our website!
Their extremely high reliability matches with demanding applications in Telecom, Datacom, Sensor Networks, Instruments, Test and Measurement.
These MEMS single mode switches are designed to be easily integrated into optical systems. The highly reliable MEMS technology is characterized by a long lifetime, high reliability, and high durability (max 3 x 109 cycles), making these suitable for use as OEM components. The switch is packaged to allow easy mounting onto PCB boards.

With the increasing prevalence of the Internet and modern communications around the world, fiber optics, which signifying a significant information revolution in the telecommunication industry—are racing to keep up. Meanwhile, software developers and users are constantly employing applications that take up more and more bandwidth in order to enhance the speed of information delivery, which, without doubt, placing heavy burdens on fiber networks. So carriers are looking for innovative ways to push more data through existing fiber. To this end, there come various vital advancements in network communication that efficiently extending the capacity of current fiber optic systems, and optical switch captures an essential position among them.

The backbone of telecommunications and networking today is the “all-optical network”, which means every communication would remain an optical transmission from start to finish. However, a certain amount of networking equipment today is still based on electronic signals, that is to say, the optical signals have to be converted to electrical ones, then to be amplified, regenerated or switched, and reconverted to optical signals. This process is referred to as an “optical-to-electronic-to-optical” (OEO) conversion. Which is considered to be a significant bottleneck in transmission. Therefore, huge amount of information traveling around an optical network needs to be switched through various points known as nodes.

Optical switching functions by replacing existing electronic network switched with optical ones, making no need for OEO conversions. It contributes to lower cost and physically smaller switches as well. However, optical switching technology currently is still immature, thus several ideas have been proposed as to how to implement light switching between optical fibers, among which the most common technique is that of the tiny movable mirrors known as micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).
While the widely use of micro-electro-mechanical systems (EMES) in some other industries is nothing new, its adoption for telecom applications is relatively recent.

Conventional MEMS works by reflecting the beam of light from the surface of a tiny mirror. MEMS systems have moving parts, and the speed at which the mirror moves is limited. By applying more current, the mirror can move faster, but there’s a limit to how much current can be sent into the array of mirrors. If this weren’t bad enough, it seems that the speed and angular displacement terms in the calculation of the required current have integer powers of around 4 or 5, and so the bottom line is that we have to put a lot of current into the array for a small improvement in speed. By changing the mirror design so that the angle through which light is bent is smaller, it’s possible to achieve faster switching speeds. This technique is known as “fast MEMS.”