Characterization of an Optical Switch Based on a Four Discrete Position Digital Actuator for Telecommunication Applications

An optical fiber switch based on a digital actuator with four discrete positions is presented and characterized in this paper. These discrete positions are obtained through a magnetic holding of a Mobile Permanent Magnet (MPM) placed in a fixed square cavity. The MPM can switch between four discrete positions that correspond to the four corners of the square cavity. This digital actuator is used as base for a 1×4 fiber optical switch by fixing a prismatic mirror on the top side of the MPM. A matrix of this elementary unit can be easily obtained to perform a N×N optical fiber switch. In this paper, the digital actuator and the 1×4 optical switch are presented. Then, the specifications and characterization of the optical switch to be used in a telecommunication network are discussed. Finally, experimental test results are shown.