MEMS Fiber-Optic Switches

1 x 2 Single Mode Switches Operating at Wavelengths from 480 nm to 1625 nm
Highly Reliable MEMS Technology: Up to 10⁹ Cycles
Designed for Mounting on Printed Circuits

OSW12-488-SM

Electrical Connectors at the
Bottom for Printed Circuits

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Optical Switch Kits

Optical Switch Modules

SM Connectors

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Fiber Optic Termination Tools

Fiber Components

5 V DC Power Supply

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Overview
Specs
Selection Guide
Feedback

Features

Choose from 6 Operating Wavelength Ranges
High Reliability MEMS Technology
Easy Mounting on Printed Circuit Boards
Low Insertion Loss: Typ 0.7 dB (except OSW12-488-SM: < 2 dB at 488 nm)

These MEMS single mode switches are designed to be easily integrated into optical systems. The highly reliable MEMS technology is characterized by a long lifetime, high reliability, and high durability (max 3 x 10⁹ cycles), making these suitable for use as OEM components. The switch is packaged to allow easy mounting onto PCB boards.

Our MEMS switches are available at six wavelength ranges (480 - 650 nm, 600 - 800 nm, 750 - 950 nm, 800 - 1000 nm, 970 - 1170 nm, or 1280 - 1625 nm) and feature low insertion losses of <0.7 dB (except OSW12-488-SM: < 2 dB at 488 nm) . The switches are non-latching and are offered as either components or as integrated systems on an evaluation board. The switches include a drive circuit requiring 5 V DC, which could be provided by the Thorlabs DS5 regulated power supply. The OSW12 Optical Switch Kits are shipped with a power supply.

Our MEMS fiber-optic switches are also available terminated with FC/PC or FC/APC Connectors, please contact Tech Support for details.

MEMS Fiber Optic Switch Specifications

Item #	OSW12-488-SM	OSW12-633-SM	OSW12-780-SM	OSW12-830-SM	OSW12-980-SM	OSW12-1310-SM
Operating Wavelength	480 - 650 nm	600 - 800 nm	750 - 950 nm	800 - 1000 nm	970 - 1170 nm	1280 - 1625 nm
Insertion Loss	Max 2 dB @ 488 nm	0.7 dB (Typ.) / 1.5 dB (Max)
Cross Talk	Typ. 75 dB / Max 60 dB
Polarization Dependent Loss	Typ. 0.02 dB / Max 0.05 dB
Backreflection	Typ. 55 dB / Max 50 dB
Switching Speed	Typ. 0.5 ms / Max 1 ms
Max. Optical Power	30 mW	50 mW	75 mW	85 mW	105 mW	300 mW
Fiber Type (Single Mode)	Fibercore SM450	Fibercore SM600	Fibercore SM780	Fibercore SM800	Fibercore SM980	Corning SMF-28E
Mode Field Diameter	3.3 µm	4.3 µm	5.3 µm	5.6 µm	6.2 µm	9.2 µm @ 1310 nm 10.4 µm @ 1550 nm
Optical Connector	None (or On Request^a)
Lifetime (no Wear Out)	Proven up to 10⁹ Switching Cycles
Operation	Non-latching
Operating Temperature	0 to 40 °C
Storage Temperature	-40 to +70 °C
Dimensions (L x W x H)	40 mm x 16.5 mm x 9.5 mm
Weight	<0.1 kg

Our MEMS fiber-optic switches are also available terminated with FC/PC or FC/APC Connectors, please contact Tech Support for details.

Item #	Operating Wavelength	Speed	Package	Ports	Termination	Control
OSW12-488-SM	480 - 650 nm	<1 ms	Component	1 x 2	None^a	5 V Signal
OSW12-488E	480 - 650 nm	<1 ms	Evaluation Board	1 x 2	None^a	Button/TTL
OSW12-633-SM	600 - 800 nm	<1 ms	Component	1 x 2	None^a	5 V Signal
OSW12-633E	600 - 800 nm	<1 ms	Evaluation Board	1 x 2	None^a	Button/TTL
OSW12-780-SM	750 - 950 nm	<1 ms	Component	1 x 2	None^a	5 V Signal
OSW12-780E	750 - 950 nm	<1 ms	Evaluation Board	1 x 2	None^a	Button/TTL
OSW12-830-SM	800 - 1000 nm	<1 ms	Component	1 x 2	None^a	5 V Signal
OSW12-830E	800 - 1000 nm	<1 ms	Evaluation Board	1 x 2	None^a	Button/TTL
OSW12-980-SM	970 - 1170 nm	<1 ms	Component	1 x 2	None^a	5 V Signal
OSW12-980E	970 - 1170 nm	<1 ms	Evaluation Board	1 x 2	None^a	Button/TTL
OSW12-1310-SM	1280 - 1625 nm	<1 ms	Component	1 x 2	None^a	5 V Signal
OSW12-1310E	1280 - 1625 nm	<1 ms	Evaluation Board	1 x 2	None^a	Button/TTL
OSW8102	1240 - 1610 nm	0.5 ms typ	Pro8 Module	1 x 2	FC/APC	Front Panel/PC Interface
OSW8202	1240 - 1610 nm	0.5 ms typ	Pro8 Module	2 x 2	FC/APC	Front Panel/PC Interface
OSW8104	1240 - 1610 nm	0.5 ms typ	Pro8 Module	1 x 4	FC/APC	Front Panel/PC Interface
OSW8108	1240 - 1610 nm	0.5 ms typ	Pro8 Module	1 x 8	FC/APC	Front Panel/PC Interface

Our MEMS fiber-optic switches are also available terminated with FC/PC or FC/APC Connectors, please contact Tech Support for details.

Posted Comments:

user (posted 2024-04-03 15:46:31.83)

I am interested in the OSW12-1310-SM. Is there a voltage range that will toggle pin 2? My plan is to use a Raspberry Pi if I can toggle pin 2 to high at 3.3V. The spec sheet says 5V, but I does not mention a range at which it might work. Thank you.

cwright (posted 2024-04-04 04:12:27.0)

Response from Charles at Thorlabs: Thank you for contacting us. The switches are specified as compatible with both TTL and CMOS logic levels, so 3.3V will be suitable for this. The optical switches will operate with logic LOW from 0V to 1.5V and logic HIGH from 2V to 5V.

Chen Li (posted 2024-02-01 13:22:56.247)

Dear Thorlabs, I would like to know if it is possible for you to provide us a 1*4 MEMS switch which works for 1030nm with PM980 fiber pigtail.

dpossin (posted 2024-02-06 05:16:47.0)

Dear Chen Li, Thank you for your feedback. I´ll reach out to you in order to discuss you application in more detail. Best regards, Dominik

Gonzalo Martinez (posted 2023-06-22 12:23:10.49)

I need to quote this product with LC-UPC connectors.

hkarpenko (posted 2023-06-26 11:17:15.0)

Dear customer, thank you for your feedback. I will contact you directly to discuss your application in detail with you.

Daniel Kabs (posted 2021-11-18 08:43:40.397)

Hello, regarding OSW12-xxx-SM optical switch: could you please provide a footprint for the device so I can design a PCB to mount it on? At least I need to know the width/diameter of the electrical connectors at the bottom for choosing the proper drill size for the pads on the printed circuits? Thanks. Best regards, Daniel

GBoedecker (posted 2021-11-24 04:57:42.0)

Thank you very much for your inquiry. The pin diameter is 0.59 mm and the distance between two pins is 2.54 mm. You can use the CAD files for the 1 x 2 Optical Switch Kits OSW12-xxxE.

Philip Skochinski (posted 2021-10-11 17:01:11.883)

Hi-Is a PM fiber version of OSW12-1310SM available as an option? Thanks, Phil Skochinski

soswald (posted 2021-10-18 04:22:06.0)

Dear Phil, we can offer a PM version of OSW12-1310SM as a custom item. I have reached out to you directly to provide further details.

Markus Schmidt (posted 2021-09-13 00:17:38.02)

Hello Is it possible to use a 1x2 optical switch in reverse direction? 1(input)x2(output) --> 2(input)x1(output) ?

mdiekmann (posted 2021-09-20 07:09:22.0)

Thank you for your inquiry. The MEMS switches can be used in reverse direction. However, they cannot be used as a combiner as they are designed to perform a switch operation and only allow you to connect e.g. the input port to one of the output ports and not both of them at the same time.

user (posted 2019-05-28 20:05:43.727)

How fast can you do the switching? For a 1x2 switch, would I be able to switch back and forth at a 1kHz? What's the high limit? Thanks, -Ashok

wskopalik (posted 2019-05-31 10:53:14.0)

This is a response from Wolfgang at Thorlabs. Thank you very much for your inquiry! These switches have a switching time of typically 0.5 ms and max 1 ms for a single switching process. One complete switching cyle (i.e. back and forth) would take twice this time which means that you can achieve 500 - 1000 complete cycles per second. So a switching speed of 1kHz is unfortunately the highest possible limit and cannot be guaranteed for all switches. I will contact directly so we can find a good solution.

gregory.gaeumann (posted 2018-10-04 15:13:51.043)

Can these MEMS Fiber-Optic Switches be operated in both directions? (Fiber coupler & splitter)

nreusch (posted 2018-10-08 10:40:11.0)

This is a response from Nicola at Thorlabs. Thank you for your inquiry. The MEMS switches can be used bidirectionally. However, they cannot be used as fiber splitter or combiner as they are designed to perform a switch operation and only allow you to connect e.g. the input port to one of the output ports and not both of them at the same time. You can find fiber couplers and splitters at https://www.thorlabs.com/navigation.cfm?guide_id=2211.

Mark.O.Brown (posted 2018-03-13 16:53:13.553)

You should sell 1x1 mems switches that could be used as a faster, cheaper, more reliable alternative to mechanical optical shutters.

wskopalik (posted 2018-03-15 04:03:05.0)

This is a response from Wolfgang at Thorlabs. Thank you very much for your inquiry. For a lot of typical applications the 1x2 configuration is necessary, e.g. to switch between two light sources. That's why we offer this configuration. You are however right, these switches can also be used as a shutter. For this you just wouldn't connect one of the two output ports, then you would basically get a 1x1 switch. I have contacted you directly to discuss this in further detail.

victor_leyva (posted 2017-01-16 10:17:10.803)

Is OSW12-1310 fiber optic switch available in PM fiber yet? Please email response thank you

wskopalik (posted 2017-01-17 03:35:09.0)

This is a response from Wolfgang at Thorlabs. Thank you very much for your inquiry. Yes, the OSW12-1310 can also be offered with PM fibers as a special. I have contacted you directly about the further details.

cg8 (posted 2016-01-26 11:39:38.397)

Can the product be terminated with FC/APC as ordered, or will that be necessary at the user end?

shallwig (posted 2016-01-27 04:13:38.0)

This is a response from Stefan at Thorlabs. Thank you very much for your inquiry. We can also offer these switches terminated with FC/APC or FC/PC connectors as special. I will contact you directly to check for which one you would need a quote.

etherxp (posted 2014-10-19 19:23:19.83)

I need this optical swith(OSW12-780-SM) using PM fibers to replace the SM fibers, is it possible for you to provide it?

shallwig (posted 2014-10-20 10:23:53.0)

This is a response from Stefan at Thorlabs. Thank you very much for your inquiry. At the moment we are unfortuantely not able to offer the optical switches with PM fibers as we cannot allign the fibers properly to the switches. I will contact you directly to discuss your application in detail.

ashek (posted 2013-05-21 18:59:28.9)

Hi, I have purchased a OSW12-780-SM with the optical switch kits. Is it possible to drive the OSW12 directly using my own TTL signal and bypass the switch kit all together? Thanks, Alex Shek Trex Enterprises 10455 Pacific Center Ct San Diego, CA 92121 Tel (858)646-5300 x 5485 Fax (858)646-5301 Email: ashek@trexenterprises.com

tschalk (posted 2013-05-22 10:51:00.0)

This is a response from Thomas at Thorlabs. Thank you very much for your inquiry. If you are using the Fiber Optic Switch Kit OSW12-780E than it is possible to remove the OSW12-780-SM from the circuit board and use your own TTL signal. You can unsolder the OSW by yourself or we can perform the modification for you. I will contact you directly to discuss the details.

tschalk (posted 2013-01-10 12:17:00.0)

This is a response from Thomas at Thorlabs. Thank you very much for your inquiry. The model is designed for 780nm.

simon.metzendorf (posted 2013-01-10 11:47:07.967)

Hi, I have a MEMS Switch but I'm not sure which wavelength model it is. The label on the switch says: Thorlabs SN1x2-5N MEMS Switch 2007-28-4967. The Manual is for the models: OSW12-xxx-SM (-E) Thanks!