Abstract

We propose and experimentally demonstrate thin-film filter- (TF) based reconfigurable $1\times 2$ fiber-optic add–drop switch (FADS) structures. Our key idea is to locate a movable mirror oriented at a desired angle near the TF to switch the desired wavelength optical beams to the wanted switching ports. Our first moderate-optical-isolation TF-based reconfigurable $1\times 2$ FADS is in a transmissive design. Another TF-based reconfigurable $1\times 2$ FADS structure is in a retroreflective configuration, and it gives a very low optical-coherent cross talk. Our experimental proof of concept using an off-the-shelf four-cavity TF measured center wavelength at $1545.749\text{\hspace{0.17em} nm}$ and a $\text{0 .8 mm}\times \text{0 .8 mm}\times \text{0 .15 mm}$ movable mirror confirms a $-19\text{\hspace{0.17em} dB}$ and a much improved $<-53\text{\hspace{0.17em} dB}$ optical-coherent cross talk for our transmissive and retroreflective configurations, respectively.

© 2006 Optical Society of America

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