Patent ID: 7263252
Filing Date: 2007-08-28
Classification: H04Q

Abstract:
1. An optical switch comprising: at least one input optical fiber; output optical fibers; at least one movable mirror, which directs a light beam from the input optical fiber selectively to one of the output optical fibers, a direction-of the movable mirror being changeable, and the direction of the movable mirror being changed to switch the output optical fiber that combines with the light beam reflected by the movable mirror; at least one shutter, which appropriately intercepts the light beam traveling toward the movable mirror from the input optical fiber, the shutter intercepting the light beam traveling toward the movable mirror while the direction of the movable mirror is changed; a splitter, which splits the light beam of wavelength multiplexed light (light containing wavelength components) projected from the input optical fiber into light beams based on a wavelength of the light beam from the input optical fiber; and a lens, which changes the split light beams into converging light beams, the optical switch further comprising: movable mirrors including said movable mirror, the number of movable mirrors being more than or equals to that of light beams split by the splitter, the movable mirrors respectively corresponding to the light beams split by the splitter, the optical switch further comprising shutters including said shutter, the number of shutters being equal to that of movable mirrors, the shutters respectively corresponding to the movable mirrors, and each shutter intercepting the light beam traveling toward the movable mirror between the lens and the movable mirror.