Patent ID: 7555177

Claim:
An all-fiber magneto-optic switch having an input and an output, the all-fiber magneto-optic switch comprising: a polarization beam splitter for splitting at least one incoming signal into a first and a second orthogonal polarized paths; at least one magneto-optic Faraday rotator in each path; a polarization beam counter to couple the orthogonal polarized paths at the output; and first means for producing a first field in only the first path to control the polarization of each of the at least one magneto-optic Faraday rotator in only the first path, whereby presence of the field changes the state of the all-fiber magneto-optic switch; and wherein the means for producing the first field comprises a current carrying coil wound about the at least one magneto-optic Faraday rotator in the first path.