公开(公告)号：US20210271032A1

公开(公告)日：2021-09-02

申请号：US16804130

申请日：2020-02-28

申请人： INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION

发明人： Faezeh GHOLAMI ,  Michael CRACRAFT ,  Matteo COCCHINI ,  Vahe MINASSIAN

IPC分类号： G02B6/38 ,  G02B6/44

摘要： A fiber-optic switching system is provided which includes an optical fiber switch having first and second optical fiber portions and an electrically-controlled actuator. The first and second optical fiber portions are spaced apart with a gap between the portions that is sized to allow for light signal coupling between the optical fiber portions in a signal-passing state of the switch. The electrically-controlled actuator is coupled to transition the switch between the signal-passing state, where the light signal is allowed to pass between the optical fiber portions, and a signal-non-passing state, where the light signal is prevented from passing between the optical fiber portions. The electrically-controlled actuator includes an electroactive material exhibiting a physical change with change in an applied electrical field, where the physical change facilitates transitioning the optical fiber switch between the signal-passing and the signal-non-passing states.