Improvement of switching time in a thermocapillarity optical switch

The switching time of existing thermocapillarity optical switches is about two orders of magnitude larger than that of other optical switches, such as a thermooptics switch and a free-space switch using microelectromechanical system technology. This paper reports a thermocapillarity switch whose swi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of lightwave technology 2001-07, Vol.19 (7), p.1023-1027
Main Authors: Sakata, T., Togo, H., Makihara, M., Shimokawa, F., Kaneko, K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Circuit properties
Design engineering
Electric, optical and optoelectronic circuits
Electronics
Exact sciences and technology
Liquids
Matching
Microelectromechanical systems
Miscellaneous
Optical and optoelectronic circuits
Optical crosstalk
Optical fiber networks
Optical fibers
Optical network units
Optical refraction
Optical switches
Optical switching
Optical variables control
Optical waveguides
Switches
Switching
Switching circuits
Telecommunication switching
Viscosity
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Description
Summary:The switching time of existing thermocapillarity optical switches is about two orders of magnitude larger than that of other optical switches, such as a thermooptics switch and a free-space switch using microelectromechanical system technology. This paper reports a thermocapillarity switch whose switching time is comparable to that of the thermooptics and free-space switches. The greatly improved switching time is achieved by lowering the absolute viscosity of the refractive-index matching liquid and improving the switch design.
ISSN:0733-8724
1558-2213
DOI:10.1109/50.933298