What Does an Optical Switch Do in Fiber Optic Network

Optical Switch (OS) is a device used to close an optical circuit and selectably convert, logically switch the optical signal transmission in optical paths. An optical switch has one or more inputs ports and two or more output ports that is usually called 1xN or NxN optical switch.

Performance Parameters of Optical Switch

The quality of optical switches depends on fast switching speed, high isolation, low insertion loss, insensitivity to polarization and reliability. The applications in different fields have different requirements for its parameters. Main characteristic parameters of optical switches:

1. Insertion Loss

2. Return Loss: the ratio of the optical power returned from the input end to the input optical power.

3. Isolation: the ratio of the optical power of two isolated output ports.

4. Crosstalk: The ratio of the input optical power to the optical power output from the non-conducting port.

5. Extinction Ratio: The difference between the insertion loss of the two ports in the conducting and non-conducting states. ER=IL-IL0

6. Switching Time: The time required for the switch port to turn on or off from a certain initial state. Count from the moment when energy is applied or removed from the switch. Optical switches and optical amplification, optical signal storage, etc. are all optical device materials. The optical switch can be operated within picoseconds (10–12 seconds). At present, it is based on lithium niobate and gallium aluminum arsenic compound, formed from the electronics industry. Read more on Applications of Optical Switches.