| US 7,468,995 B2 | ||
| Optical switch | ||
| Yoshichika Kato, Tokyo (Japan); Yoshihiko Hamada, Tokyo (Japan); Keiichi Mori, Tokyo (Japan); Osamu Imaki, Tokyo (Japan); and Kenji Kondou, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Limited, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Apr. 24, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/789,771. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2006-124227 (JP), filed on Apr. 27, 2006. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0253045 A1, Nov. 01, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. H01S 3/30 (2006.01); H01S 3/121 (2006.01); G02B 6/42 (2006.01); G02B 26/08 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 372—8 [372/14; 385/18; 359/196] | 10 Claims |
| 1. An optical switch, comprising:
a substrate;
mirror means disposed on the substrate, the mirror means having first and second mirror surfaces whose extended surfaces intersecting
each other and being orthogonal to a surface of the substrate;
first optical waveguide means disposed on the substrate, the first optical waveguide means having an end forming an optical
path at an equal angle with respect to the first mirror surface and the second mirror surface;
second and third optical waveguide means disposed on the substrate so as to form acute angles with respect to both sides of
the first optical waveguide means, the second and third optical waveguide means having ends optically coupled to the end of
the first optical waveguide means in response to reflection on the first and second mirror surfaces; and
an actuator disposed on the substrate, the actuator driving the mirror means to optically couple the end of the second or
third optical waveguide means and the end of the first optical waveguide means through one of the first mirror surface and
the second mirror surface;
wherein an optical path length between the ends of the first and second optical waveguide means optically coupled through
the first mirror surface and an optical path length between the ends of the first and third optical waveguide means optically
coupled through the second mirror surface are equal to each other.
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