Alterable grating fiber-optic switch

This paper describes a solid state high speed fiber-optic switch based on dynamically alterable magnetic stripe domains that occur naturally in epitaxial films of rare-earth iron garnet. The array of stripe domains acts collectively as a Faraday effect phase diffraction grating that deflects visible and infrared radiation. Electrically derived magnetic fields in the plane of the film steer incident light from an input fiber to one of several output fibers. Reciprocity and wavelength sensitivity can be exploited for systems applications. Both theoretical and experimental results are presented.