| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to hold the state of switched optical paths without electric feed by holding the fluctuation position of the partition wall of a housing pipe by magnetic force or electrostatic force. SOLUTION: The magnetic force acts on a ferromagnetic material thin film 20 and a membrane 19 is attracted to the electromagnet 24 side, by which the volume of the housing pipe 17 is increased. The liquid surface of a refractive index matching liquid 21 falls. This refractive index matching liquid 21 is discharged from a slit 15 to the housing pipe 17 and the end face of the core 13 is exposed. The incident light on the branch path 12-1 of an optical waveguide 12 in an arrow L11 direction is reflected by the wall surface of the slit 15 by a difference in the refractive index in an intersecting part 14, by which the light is bent to an orthogonal branch path 12-3. Even if the energization to an electromagnet 24 is stopped thereafter, the volume of the housing pipe 17 does not change. The movement of the refractive index matching liquid 21 does not, therefore, arise and the state that the matching liquid 21 is absent in the slit 15 continues. The feeding and discharging of the matching liquid 21 to and from the inside of the slit 15 are made possible by the constitution described above and, therefore, the high-speed switching of the optical paths is possible. |
