Optical Switches Tap MEMS Technology

Relying on proprietary MEMS technology, the company's line of optical cross connect switches are available in 8 x 8 or 16 x 16 configurations. The switches are non-blocking, making them suitable for use in re-configurable optical add-drop multiplexers and a variety of other agile optical networking systems. They come in hermetically sealed packages on a small-form-factor pc board measuring 3.5" x 1.2" x .85". Functional in both C- and L-band applications, other features include an insertion loss of 1 dB and repeatability of ±0.1 dB. All configurations support power levels up to 24 dBm per channel. Price is $250 per channel for high channel count and large volumes. For more details, call John Auyeung at CHROMUX TECHNOLOGIES INC., Oxnard, CA. (805) 278-3208.