9. Switching mechanism
• There are two beams we have to keep track of-
The signal beam (the one that either gets blocked or passed through the
router).
A switch beam (The one that turns the ring router on and off).
10. Mirrors (versatile routers)
• When we change the direction that mirror faces, we
change the direction that the information flows.
• The following figure shows a fairly tiny mechanical
solution: 256 mirrors on a few square cm of Silicon
11. Light steering: Nanotechnology at
the wheel
• To tightly regulate the angle of a mirror on the nano
scale, electrostatic force is used
12. Applications
• On –Chip data communication
• Medical diagnostics
• Fusion energy
• Laser defense