Product Portfolio
AMS Technologies carries a broad range of MEMS-based fiber optic switches in miniature, PCB-mountable, module, benchtop and rackmount form factors. Latching or non-latching optical MEMS fiber optic switches are available with single mode (SM), multi mode (MM) or polarization maintaining (PM) fibers, suitable for wavelengths from 600 to 1600 nm.
Customers can choose from various port configurations of up to 32 inputs and 32 outputs. Our MEMS-based fiber optic switches’ extremely high reliability matches with demanding applications like telecom, datacom, sensor networks, instruments or test and measurement.
Miniature co-axial non-latching 1xN and 2xN fiber optic switches are available in four different variants to simplify integration in existing systems. feature a status sensor output and can be ordered latching or non-latching.
A series of compact, PCB-mount, latching type fiber optic MEMS switches for telecom and test and measurement applications is available with SM or MM fibers in 1x1, 2x1 or 2x2 configurations. PCB-mount switches in a slightly larger form factor can be provided with SM, MM or PM fibers in 1x2, 2x2, 1x4, 1x8 and 1x16 and a variety of driver options.
Fast, non-blocking fiber optic MEMS switches in a compact module format can be mounted onto a PCB – non-latching in 1x2, 2x2 and 1x4 configurations for SM and PM fibers, as well as latching in 1x2 up to 1x32 and 2x2 configurations for SM, MM and PM fibers or in 4x4, 4x8 and 8x8 configurations for PM fibers. These switches achieve low insertion loss, fast response time and high repeatability.
Non-blocking, MEMS-based NxN fiber optic matrix switches connect any of the input fibers to any of the output fibers. These 16X16 up to 32x32 optical cross connects use an optical free space technology, and the individual ports can be addressed over a RS232 or USB interface.
Benchtop MEMS-based fiber optic switches can switch up to two input fibers to any of up to eight output fibers, independently of data format, wavelength or optical power. These switches are available either for SM or MM fibers and controlled over an USB connection which also acts as power supply.
2X2 rack-mountable bypass switch modules based on MEMS technology are available in double, quad or quad duplex configurations. The modules come with latching or non-latching fiber optic switches.
Related Products
Our fiber optic switches can be used with our broad range of optical fibers, patch cables, bundles and assemblies, driven by our various lasers and light sources.
Beyond fiber optic switches, further fiber components are available like collimators and focusers, light to fiber couplers/collimators, fiber connectors, mating sleeves and adapters, fiber WDMs, combiners, splitters and couplers, fiber amplifiers, attenuators or polarization controllers, as well as fiber optic circulators, delay lines, filters, isolators and other fiber optic assemblies.
Our portfolio of precision optics includes optical lenses, optics assemblies, optical filters, optical prisms, optical mirrors, optical beamsplitters, etalons, optical gratings, optical isolators, optical attenuators and polarization optics as well as optical scanners and deflectors or optical modulators, q-switches and pockels cells.
For mounting, adjusting and moving our optical components with high precision, we carry an array of optomechanics and motion control such as optical mounts, rotary and translation stages plus motion controllers as well as optical tables, breadboards and platforms.
Definition
MEMS-based fiber optic switches provide rapid fiber optic switching capability in a rugged and miniature package, some models suitable for direct mounting on PCBs.
The technological basis of the fiber switches are Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), whose tiny structures are created using lithography (similar to the production of semiconductors). Tiny MEMS-based movable elements vary the path of the light in a way that optical connections are created or blocked. This switching process happens very quickly and reproducibly and is independent of the polarization of the light.
MEMS-based switches are available both latching (the last switching state is maintained when the supply voltage is switched off) and non-latching (without supply voltage, the element falls back to the idle switching state). MEMS-based fiber optical switches can be qualified according to Telcordia GR 1221 and feature fast response, solid state reliability and accurate precision. Configuration options include single mode (SM), multi mode (MM) or polarisation maintaining (PM) fiber compatibility.
When several input fibers are required, the switch architecture can be either blocking or non-blocking. In the blocking architecture when one input is set, the other inputs can only be set to a limited number of “free” ports. In the non-blocking architecture there is no such limitation. Any of the input ports can go to any of the free output ports. The complexity of the non-blocking architecture is much higher.
Alternative Terms: Fiber Switch; Optical Switch; Latching Fiber Optic Switch; Non-latching Fiber Optic Switch; Blocking Fiber Optic Switch; Non-blocking Fiber Optic Switch
