Patent attributes
The present invention relates to an optical switch apparatus made to successively carry out the route switching with respect to frame signal light inputted through various paths while eliminating the dispersion of an output power value. In the optical switch apparatus, input side deflecting units are disposed in corresponding relation to a plurality of input ports and output side deflecting units are disposed in corresponding relation to a plurality of output ports. Each input side deflecting unit and each output side deflecting unit are constructed in a manner such that a plurality of optical deflecting elements made to deflect signal light in response to an electric field applied are arranged in a cascade fashion, and the optical deflecting element constituting the input side deflecting unit or the output side deflecting unit is made so as to variably adjust the level of signal light to be outputted from the output side deflecting unit to the output port.