THE LATEST PROGRESS OF OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE SWITCH

With the development of opticalfiber communications, the function of optical switches is becoming increasingly prominent since they serve as kernel devices for optical add-drop multiplexing（OADM）and optical cross connecting（OXC）. This article classifies optical waveguide switches from three different angles: unit structure, material and modulating mechanism. We also discuss the basic principles and latest developments of waveguide switches, and analyze the technological challenges with comments from our point of view.