JPH03153220A - Optical matrix switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate optical axis alignment by outputting light from a 1st branch by a 1st optical guide in the direction intersecting a 1st substrate surface at right angles and inputting light from the 1st optical guide part by a 2nd optical guide part in the direction intersecting a 2nd substrate surface at right angles. CONSTITUTION:The 1st and 2nd branches 24 and 34 are coupled optically with each other through the 1st and 2nd optical guide parts 28 and 38. For the purpose, the propagation path of light is controlled by the 1st optical switch 26 on the 1st branch and/or 2nd optical switch 36 on the 2nd branch to output the light which is inputted from the input terminal of the desired 1st branch 24 from the output terminal of the desired 2nd branch 24. Further, the 1st optical guide part 28 outputs the light from the 1st branch 24 in the direction crossing the surface of the 1st substrate 1 at right angles and the 2nd optical guide part 38 inputs the light from the 1st optical guide part 28 in the direction crossing the surface of the 2nd substrate 40 at right angles, so the 1st and 2nd substrates 30 and 40 are moved in two dimensions while the 1st and 2nd substrate surfaces are set opposite each other, the optical axes of the 1st and 2nd optical guide parts 30 and 40 can be aligned with each other. Consequently, the operation for the optical axis alignment is facilitated.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to an optical matrix switch.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, optical matrix switches for switching optical transmission lines have been used, for example, in the literature: JP-A-61-231.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 530. Below, the first
Referring to Figure 2, we will explain the conventional optical matrix switch of this document.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a conventional optical matrix switch.

The conventional optical matrix switch shown in FIG. 12 includes a plurality of optical distribution means 10 each connected to a corresponding input port IOa, a plurality of optical distribution means 12 connected to each corresponding output port 12a, and an input and output port IOa. and a switch section 14 for controlling connections between the two.

The switch unit 14 includes a plurality of optical gate switches 16 arranged in a matrix in a plane to constitute a spatial modulator. The switch 16 includes a common substrate 18, a surface-receiving type light-receiving element 20, and a surface-emitting type light-emitting element 2 provided on this substrate 18.
It consists of 2.

As the light distribution means 10 and the light combining ten stages 12, for example, in the example shown in the figure, a brainer type device is used in which an optical waveguide is formed by providing a SiO2 film on a Si substrate, and in another example, an optical fiber is fused. A star cabura formed by

The light distribution means 10 and the light law means 12 are connected in any suitable manner to form a light propagation path from any input port 10a to any output photo port 12a, and a switch 16 is provided on this propagation path. Input boat IOa using switch 16
By controlling the optical coupling between the input port 10a and the output port 128, the light input from the desired input port 10a can be outputted from the desired output port 12a.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional optical matrix switch described above, the light distribution and light law means are optically coupled to the light reception and light emitting elements, so the light distribution and light law means are three-dimensionally connected. It is necessary to adjust the position to align the optical axis with the light receiving and light emitting elements, which makes optical axis alignment difficult, especially when creating optical matrix switches with a large number of input/output ports used for optical exchange of large lines. was difficult.

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical matrix switch having a structure that can simplify the work of optical axis alignment in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve this object, the optical matrix switch of the present invention includes a first branch branching from the input end side of the first branch to the output end side, and a first branch branching on the first branch. a first optical switch to be arranged, and
an input-side switch section configured by providing a first light guide section on the first substrate to optically couple with the output end of the first branch; a second branch merging from the input end side to the output end side of the second branch; a second optical switch disposed on the second branch; and an output side switch section configured by providing a second optical guide section on a second substrate to optically couple the input end of the second branch; The guide portion is a light guide portion that outputs the light from the first branch in a direction intersecting the first substrate surface, and the second light guide portion is configured to output the light from the second light guide portion to intersect the second substrate surface. The light guide section is characterized in that the first and second light guide sections are optically coupled with each other so that the first and second substrate surfaces face each other.

(Function) According to such a configuration, the first and second branches are optically coupled via the first and second light guide parts. Therefore, by controlling the propagation path of light by the first optical switch on the first branch and/or the second optical switch on the second branch, the light input from the input end of the desired first branch is transferred to the desired second branch. It can be output from the output terminal of.

Moreover, the first light guide section outputs the light from the first branch in a direction intersecting the first substrate surface, and at the same time, the second light guide section outputs the light from the first light guide section to intersect the second substrate surface. Since the input is from the direction, the optical axes of the first and second light guide sections can be aligned by moving the first and second substrates two-dimensionally with their surfaces facing each other.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the drawings are only schematic representations to the extent that the present invention can be understood, and therefore the dimensions, shapes, and arrangement values II of each component are not limited to the illustrated examples.

2nd jCi example FIG. 1 is a partly cutaway plan view schematically showing the overall configuration of the first embodiment of this embodiment, and FIGS. 2 and 4 are input side switchboards of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the configurations of a switch section and an output side switch section.

As shown in these figures, the optical matrix switch of the first embodiment includes a first branch 24 branching from the input end 24a side of the first branch 24 to the output end 24b side.
An input side switch section 32 configured by providing a first substrate 30 with a first optical switch 26 disposed above and a first optical guide section 28 optically coupled to the output end 24b of the first branch 24; , from the input end 34a side of the second branch 34 to the output end 34b
The second branch 34 merging to the side, M arranged on the second branch 34
and an output side switch section 42 configured by providing a second light guide section 38 optically coupled to the input end 34a of the second branch 34 on a second substrate 40.

The first light guide section 28 is a light guide section that outputs the light from the first branch 24 in a direction intersecting the first substrate 30 surface, and the second light guide section 38 and the second light guide section 28 A light guide section inputs light from a direction intersecting the 40th surface of the second substrate, and the 30th surface of the bacterial substrate and the 40th surface of the second substrate are made to face each other to form the first light guide section 28 and the second light guide section 3.
It has a configuration in which 8 are optically coupled.

This embodiment will be explained in more detail.

In this embodiment, N 1×M first branches 24 are provided on the tube-substrate 30, and M N×1 second branches 34 are provided on the second substrate 40 (for example, N=M=4). , one first branch 24 has one input end 24, a and M output ends 24.
b, one second branch 34 has N input ends 34a and one output end 34b! Be prepared.

And one first branch 24 and a different second branch 3
4, and one input end 2 of the first branch 24
A light propagation path is formed from 4a to the output end 34b of each of the M second branches 34.

An optical switch 26 such as a total reflection type or directional coupler type 1×2 optical switch is provided at the branch point of the first branch 24, and an optical switch 36 such as a total reflection type or directional coupler type is provided at the branch point of the second branch 34. A coupler type 2×1 optical switch is provided, and the light propagation path is selected by these optical switches 26 and 36.
Therefore, the light inputted from the input end 24a of the desired first branch 24 is outputted from the output end 34b of the desired second branch 34.

In addition, the output direction of the light from the second light guide section 28 is set to the first substrate 30.
The input direction of light from the second light guide section 38 is a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the second substrate 40. As a result, when the light guide portions 28, 38 are optically coupled, the overlap between the first substrate 3o and the second substrate 40 when viewed from above can be increased, and the optical matrix switch can be made smaller.

FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of the lens array section of the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the optical matrix switch of this embodiment includes a lens array section 48 configured by providing a condensing lens 44 on a third substrate 46, and includes a lens array section 48 on the 30th surface of the first substrate and the 40th surface of the second substrate. A third substrate 46 is placed between the condenser lenses 4 and 4.
It has a configuration in which it is provided between the second optical guide section 28 and the second optical guide section 38 that optically couple the optical fibers.

Even if the light from the second light guide section 28 is scattered, this light is condensed by the condenser lens 44 and the input end 34a of the second branch 34 is
can be input efficiently.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the main structure of the first embodiment, and shows the state of the optical coupling portion of the output end 24b of the first branch 24 and the input end 34a of the second branch 34. , and FIGS. 6 and 7 are sectional views of main parts on the actual flow side, taken along the lines ``--'' and ``--'' in FIG. 5.

The first substrate 30 and the second substrate 40 are made of a material used to form optical circuit elements such as optical switches and branches, such as ferroelectric crystals or compound semiconductors.
And as 40, a light-transmitting substrate is used.

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the first light guide section 28 and the first branch 24 are provided on the side of one substrate surface 30a of the first substrate 30, and the second A second light guide section 38 and a second branch 34 are provided on the side of one substrate surface 40a of 40. The light guide portion 28.38 consists of a reflective surface, preferably a total reflection surface, formed by cutting out the substrate 30.40, for example.

The other substrate surfaces 30b and 4 of these substrates 30 and 40
The substrates 30, 40, and 46 are fixed to each other with the third substrate 46 sandwiched between the substrate surfaces 30b and 40b.

The third substrate 46 is made of a transparent substrate. This third board 46
A light guide portion 28 for optical coupling is provided on one and the other substrate surface of the
．． 38, a condensing lens 44, for example, a collimating lens is provided, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the light propagating through the first branch 24 has its propagation direction directed to the output end 24b. The light is changed to a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the first substrate 30 by the second light guide portion 28 and enters the condenser lens 44 . The light incident on the condensing lens 44 is condensed by the condensing lens 44 to the second light guide section 3 of the input end 34a, and its propagation direction is changed by the second light guide section 38, and the light enters the second branch 34. and propagates through the second branch 34.

(Modified Example of First Embodiment) FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part similar to FIG. 6, for explaining a modified example of the violet embodiment.

In this modification, the first branch 24 and the second light guide section 28
It is the same as the first embodiment described above, except that the 24.28 protective layers 50 are provided on the top, and the 34.38 protective layers 52 are provided roughly on the second branch 34 and the second light guide section 38. The structure is as follows.

The material for forming the protective layer 50 is preferably a material having a refractive index lower than that of the first substrate 30 and the first branch 24, and similarly, the material for forming the protective layer 52 is preferably a material having a refractive index lower than that of the first substrate 30 and the first branch 24. A material having a refractive index lower than that of 40 and second branch 34 may be used.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a main part corresponding to the cross section of FIG. 6, for explaining another modification of the first embodiment.

Hereinafter, points different from the first embodiment described above will be explained, and detailed explanations of points similar to the second embodiment will be omitted.

In the first embodiment described above, the light guide section 28 is connected to the first substrate 3.
0 to reflect light from one substrate surface 30a side of the second substrate 40 to the other substrate surface 30b side. In this embodiment, the second light guide section 28 is formed so as to reflect light from the other substrate surface 30b side of the first substrate 30 to one substrate surface 30a side. Roughly, the second light guide portion 38 is formed to reflect light from the other substrate surface 40b side of the second substrate 40 to the one substrate surface 40a side. These light guide portions 28 and 30 are made of reflective surfaces formed by cutting out a substrate, for example, as in the first embodiment. A third substrate 46 is sandwiched between the substrate surfaces 30a and 40a so that the substrate surfaces 30a and 40a face each other, and a condenser lens 44 is provided between the light guide portions 28 and 38 for optical coupling. In this modification, the first substrate 3
o and the second substrate 40 may be either a light-transmitting substrate or a light-blocking substrate.

1st Example FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway plan view schematically showing the structure of the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, points different from the first embodiment will be explained, and detailed explanations of points similar to the second embodiment will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the first branch 24 and the second branch 34 are passive branches, and the first optical switch 26 and the second optical switch 36 are passive branches.
is an ON-FF (on-off) type 1×1 optical switch. Then, a third optical switch 26 is provided between the final stage branch point counting from the input end 24a side of the first branch 24 and the output end 24b, and roughly a third optical switch 26 is provided between the final stage branch point counting from the input end 24a side of the second branch 34 and the third branch point counting from the input end 34a side of the second branch 34. A second optical switch 36 is provided between the first stage branch point and the input end 34a.

FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway plan view schematically showing the configuration of the third embodiment.

Hereinafter, points different from the first embodiment will be explained, and detailed explanations of points similar to the second embodiment will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the first substrate 30 and the second substrate 40 are each made of one substrate, but in this embodiment, the first substrate 30 and the second substrate 40 are each composed of a plurality of arbitrarily suitable substrates. In the illustrated example, the first substrate 30 is, for example, a substrate 301.
and 302, and the second substrate 40 is connected to the substrates 401 and 4.
It consists of 02. Input end 24 of optical matrix switch
When configuring a multi-input, multi-output optical matrix switch in which the number of substrates 30 .
Even if a large board size of 40 is required,
A multi-input, multi-output optical matrix switch can be constructed by configuring the substrates 30 and 40 by combining small substrates made of a substrate material, such as a compound semiconductor, whose size cannot be increased.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and therefore, the configuration, shape, forming material, number of components, location, dimensions, and other conditions of each component can be changed as desired. can.

For example, the lens array section may be omitted, and the output direction of light from the first light guide section and the input direction of light from the second light guide section may not only be perpendicular to the substrate surface, but also any suitable direction. The direction can be changed.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, according to the optical matrix switch of the present invention, the first light guide section outputs the light from the first branch in a direction intersecting the first substrate surface; At the same time, since the second light guide section inputs the light from the first light guide section from a direction intersecting the second substrate surface, the first and second substrates are connected to each other with the first and second substrate surfaces facing each other. By moving dimensionally, the optical axes of the first and second light guide sections can be aligned.
Therefore, optical axis alignment can be performed more easily than before.
Optical axes can be easily aligned when creating a 32-line optical matrix switch using an InP substrate about cm square.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view schematically showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view illustrating the configuration of the input side switch section of the second embodiment. The figure is a plan view for explaining the structure of the lens array section of the first embodiment, FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining the structure of the output side switch section of the first embodiment, and FIG. FIGS. 6 and 7 are sectional views showing the main parts of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the main parts of the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main parts of another modification of the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway plan view schematically showing the structure of the third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway plan view schematically showing the structure of the third embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of an optical matrix switch of FIG. 24--First branch, 24a, 34a...Input end 24b, 34b--Output end, 26--First optical switch 28--First light guide section, 30--First board 32--Input side switch section 34--Second branch 36--Second optical switch 38--Second light guide section 40--Second board 42
---Output side switch section 44--Condenser lens, 46--Third board 48-
...Lens array section. 24 first branch 24a, 34a input end 24b, 34b output end 26M-optical switch 28M-light guide section 30 board 30a, 40b board surface 34, second branch 36, second optical switch 40 second board 44, collection Optical lens 46 Partially cutaway plan view of the third substrate side - English flow side Fig. 1 30b, 40a A sectional view of the main part of the substrate surface No. 1 - English flow side Fig. 6 Fig. 7 50.52 Protective layer Fig. 8 9 Figure 2 Partially cutaway plan view of the second English flow side Figure 1 θ Figure Partially cutaway plan view of the third embodiment Figure 11 6 Conventional optical matrix switch Figure 12

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A first branch branching from the input end side to the output end side of the first branch, a first optical switch disposed on the first branch, and optical coupling with the output end of the first branch. an input side switch section configured by providing a first light guide section on the first substrate; a second branch merging from the input end side of the second branch to the output end side; a second optical switch, and an output side switch section configured by providing a second light guide section optically coupled to the input end of the second branch on the first substrate; A light guide section outputs the light from the first branch in a direction intersecting the first substrate surface, and the second light guide section outputs the light from the first light guide section in a direction intersecting the first substrate surface. An optical matrix switch characterized in that the first and second light guide parts are optically coupled to each other as an input light guide part, with the first and second substrate surfaces facing each other. (2) The optical matrix switch according to claim 1, characterized in that N 1×M first branches are provided on the first substrate, and M N×1 second branches are provided on the second substrate. . (3) The light output direction of the first light guide section is substantially perpendicular to the first substrate surface, and the light input direction of the second light guide section is substantially perpendicular to the second substrate surface. The optical matrix switch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: (4) A lens array section configured by providing a condensing lens on a third substrate, and a third substrate is disposed between the first and second substrate surfaces, and the first and second condensing lenses are optically coupled. The optical matrix switch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the optical matrix switch is provided between the second light guide parts.