Conventionally, in intelligent buildings in a metropolitan area network and in small-scale facilities in the optical access network, optical connectors are joined manually using an optical connection board and a patch panel. In this manual connection approach, mistakes occur due to discrepancies between the actual physical settings of the connections and their management because these processes are independent. Moreover, manual cross-connection is time-consuming and expensive because maintenance personnel must be dispatched to remote places to correct mistakes. We have developed a fiber-handling robot and optical connection mechanisms for automatic cross-connection of multiple optical connectors, which are the key elements of automatic optical fiber cross-connect equipment. We evaluate the performance of the equipment, such as its optical characteristics and environmental specifications. We also devise new optical connection mechanisms that enable the automated optical fiber cross-connect module to handle and connect angled physical contact (APC) optical connector plugs. We evaluate the performance of the equipment, such as its optical characteristics. The evaluation results confirm that the automated optical fiber cross-connect equipment can connect APC connectors with low loss and high return loss, indicating that the automated optical fiber cross-connect equipment is suitable for practical use in intelligent buildings and optical access networks.
KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Microelectromechanical systems, Optical alignment, Control systems design, Optical switching, Free space optics, Motion controllers, Control systems, Linear filtering, Switching
For optical axis alignment when light deflection control of a MEMS mirror is done at high speed, we propose a method based on identifying the quadratic surface shape. The method uses information about the optical power monitored when the mirror is inclined to a small angle. It is shown that the search for maximum optical power is possible by using this method. We also designed a control system with a band-stop filter for resonance frequency to decrease residual vibration generated when the mirror is moved at high speed. We confirm that the searchable level of optical power can be improved.
Reconfigurable wideband photonic networks based on dense wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) are promising for versatile ubiquitous services. In such networks, wavelength-selectable optical switches will be needed for WDM-based routing, which is a primary function of the networks. A critical requirement is a wavelength selection time of 20 ms or less; otherwise, data packets will be lost. Various filters, including acousto-optic filters or Fabry-Perot etalon filters, are candidates for such switches, but all are inadequate because of high driving power or low accuracy in selecting wavelengths. We propose and demonstrate a wavelength-selectable switch that consists of micromechanically movable in/out filters. A series of thirty-two in/out elements with highly wavelength-managed dielectric filter units, which have flat-top spectral responses according to ITU-T grids, are densely packaged into a small space of 45 x24 x11 mm using miniaturized voice-coil motors (VCMs). By accurately arranging the filter elements along a collimating optical beam between fibers, we achieve small total insertion losses of less than 2.5 dB for all elements. By optimizing the VCM torque, we also achieve a wavelength-selection time of 10 ms (The minimum is 5 ms). We also achieve good wavelength reproducibility with an error of less than 0.1 nm, which was confirmed by a repetition test. These results show that the proposed switches are suitable for practical use.
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