Inventors:
Yong-Sheng Chao - Storrs CT
Ying Zhao - New York NY
Assignee:
Advanced Optical Technologies, Inc. - E. Hartford CT
International Classification:
G02B 626
US Classification:
385 16, 385 18, 385 33, 359813
Abstract:
An optical switching system employing switching modules. Each module comprises (a) a source channel, (b) a transmitting element, (c) a receiving element, and (d) a destination channel. The transmitting element directs the source channel signal to a destination channel. The transmitting element includes an initial beam deflector and a beam deflection amplifier. The receiving element includes a beam deflection compressor and a beam aligner. One embodiment of the initial deflector is a pair of focusing lenses, one of which is displaced by a piezoelectric actuator. When one lens is displaced a distance d, the output light beam has a deflection angle =(f +f )/f. The beam deflection amplifier multiplies the small angle by a transfer function F to result in a beam with a deflection angle F. The receiving element is the transmitting element in reverse. The first system configuration connects a single channel to one of a number of channels.