Wavelength selective switching
Imagine you have a bunch of different colored balls, and you want to sort them by color. But instead of picking them up one by one and putting them in different containers, you have a magic machine that can sort them all at once!
This magic machine is called a wavelength selective switch. Instead of sorting balls by color, it sorts packets of light by their wavelength, which is like each color of the light. It does this by using something called a diffraction grating, which is like a special screen that splits light into its different colors.
When the packets of light come into the switch, they hit the diffraction grating and are split up into their different wavelengths. Then, the switch uses tiny mirrors to steer each wavelength in a different direction, so that the packets of light are sorted into different pathways.
Finally, the packets of light are sent out of the switch in their sorted paths, and can be used for different purposes. This is like the different colored balls being put into different containers based on their color.
So in short, a wavelength selective switch is a machine that can sort packets of light by their different wavelengths, using a special screen and tiny mirrors to send them in different directions.
This magic machine is called a wavelength selective switch. Instead of sorting balls by color, it sorts packets of light by their wavelength, which is like each color of the light. It does this by using something called a diffraction grating, which is like a special screen that splits light into its different colors.
When the packets of light come into the switch, they hit the diffraction grating and are split up into their different wavelengths. Then, the switch uses tiny mirrors to steer each wavelength in a different direction, so that the packets of light are sorted into different pathways.
Finally, the packets of light are sent out of the switch in their sorted paths, and can be used for different purposes. This is like the different colored balls being put into different containers based on their color.
So in short, a wavelength selective switch is a machine that can sort packets of light by their different wavelengths, using a special screen and tiny mirrors to send them in different directions.