A Mechanical Optical Switch

Abstract

A 4 X 1 mechanical optical switch has been constructed, which is intended to select laser signal sources in the forthcoming SL Submarine Cable. We described the design philosophy to ensure the very high reliability required for this application ( < 2 FITS as a passive component, and < 10-3 probability of not performing the switch-over function when called upon in 25 years). We describe in detail the grooved silicon chips which were especially designed for this application for precise alignment of the optical fibers. We also describe a novel fiber end seal.