A method in an optical Wavelength Selective Switch, WSS, for multidirectional switching of optical signals. The optical WSS comprises a reflective element, a first tributary port and a second tributary port. The optical WSS switches (304) an optical signal between the first tributary port and the second tributary port with the reflective element.

The present invention makes it possible to inhibit decrease in optical performance due to a foreign object, while securing a space necessary for wire bonding. A cover (3) is configured such that a distance (z2) between an optical device (1) and a sub-cover member (32) becomes greater than a distance (z1) between the optical device (1) and a cover glass (31).

A MEMS optical switch-based LiDAR beam steering unit may comprise an optical switching array comprising two or more translatable optical switch gratings. The two or more translatable optical switch gratings may be arranged in a foveal pattern. Each of the two or more translatable optical switch gratings may have an associated MEMS structure operative to selectively translate the optical switch grating between a first position and a second position, and a first waveguide associated with the translatable optical switch grating. The grating being in the first position may cause the grating to be sufficiently close to the first waveguide to produce a strong optical coupling between the grating and the first waveguide. The grating being in the second position may cause the grating to be sufficiently far from the first waveguide to produce a weak optical coupling between the grating and the first waveguide.

A multicast optical switch based on free-space transmission comprises a 1×M input collimator array, a light splitting device, an optical distance compensation device, a spot transformation device, a 1×N output collimator array and a reflector array which are arranged in sequence. The 1×N output collimator array corresponds to reflector array. The light splitting device is provided with a light splitting surface and a reflection surface, and by means of light splitting surface and reflection surface, light splitting and beam splitting of n times are carried out on input signals of 1×M input collimator array, and then N beams of sub-signal light are generated. The optical distance compensation device compensates optical distance differences among M×N sub-signal light beams produced by light splitting device. The M×N sub-signal light beams are focused to be 1×N light spots through light spot conversion device, and then 1×N light spots are reflected to reflector array.

An optical system capable of routing primary and secondary high power lasers through a blocking switch is described.

An aspect of the disclosure provides for an optical-phased array (OPA) comprising a star coupler coupled to a plurality of grating couplers, wherein the star coupler comprises multiple inputs and multiple outputs. In some embodiments, each output of the star coupler is coupled to a grating coupler of the plurality of grating couplers. In some embodiments, the star coupler is coupled to the plurality of grating couplers by a plurality of optical delay lines. In some embodiments each output of the star coupler is coupled to a grating coupler of the plurality of grating couplers via an optical delay line of the plurality of optical delay lines. In some embodiments, the OPA further includes an optical switch coupled to the multiple inputs of the star coupler, and at least one tunable laser. Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method for steering light using the OPA.

In an optical switch array on which optical switches that require individual electric wires are integrated, the present invention provides an optical switch array and a multi-cast switch in which the electric wires are shortened by optimizing the arrangement of the optical circuit portion. In the optical switch array in which three arrays of 1×4 switch circuits are disposed in parallel, the position where each optical switch is disposed is sequentially shifted by Dy in the y axis direction. That is, in the case where an adjacent 1×4 optical switch circuit exists on both sides, the 1×4 optical switch located there between is located at the center of the two 1×4 optical switch circuits, which are adjacent in the y axis direction. Each of the three 1×4 optical switch circuits that are arrayed are disposed at a position shifted from the adjacent 1×4 optical switch circuit by Dy in the y axis direction, in accordance with the positional coordinate in the x axis direction, and the electric wires at the ground side are shared such that each optical switch circuit is located sequentially shifted by Dy in the −y axis direction.

Lidar detection device based on a lens and an integrated beam transceiver, comprising a laser, a coupling fiber, a substrate, an input waveguide, a connection waveguide, a 1×N optical switch, a switch electrical interface, N switch output waveguides, N transceiving units, an off-chip processor and a lens, wherein N is a positive integer above 2. The invention can realize three-dimensional detection of a target, and the invention has the characteristics of two-dimensional beam steering independent of wavelength switching, low control complexity, low electric power consumption, receiving and emitting monolithic integration and high receiving efficiency, and being compatible with two laser ranging functions of ToF and FMCW.

A core selective switch in an optical node device included in a spatial channel optical network includes a spatial demultiplexing unit, an optical switch, and an optical interconnect unit, wherein the spatial demultiplexing unit is an MCF collimator array in which a plurality of MCF collimators each comprising both an MCF having S cores and a collimator lens are two-dimensionally arranged in a plane, the optical switch is a variable reflection angle mirror array in which S variable reflection angle mirrors are two-dimensionally arranged in a plane in a manner similar to a core arrangement in the MCF, the optical interconnect unit is a steering lens, and a beam light output from each core of an input MCF is focused on a variable reflection angle mirror corresponding to the core to be reflected to couple to a corresponding core of a desired output MCF.

An optical switch is proposed, for routing an optical transmission signal according to an optical control signal, including one or more optical control ports; three or more optical transmission ports; a light director; and a thermally driven light mill; where the light mill and the light director are arranged with respect to each other, to the one or more control ports and to the three or more transmission ports such that: illumination of a respective one of the one or more control ports by a control beam carrying the control signal drives the light mill to rotate towards a respective position in which the light director is arranged so as to direct a transmission beam carrying the transmission signal, entering the switch via a respective one of the transmission ports, to exit the switch via a respective other of the transmission ports.