Coreray: Leading Fiber Optic Switch Manufacturer - MEMS & Mechanical Optical Solutions

Introduction: The Optical Switching Renaissance

    The global optical switch market is undergoing its most dramatic transformation since the dawn of fiber optic communication. Driven by insatiable bandwidth demands from generative AI training clusters and the transition to 6G fronthaul networks, MEMS-based optical switches have become the crown jewel of photonic component design. In 2026 alone, hyperscale data center operators are expected to deploy over 50,000 Optical Circuit Switch (OCS) units – a 300% increase from 2025, according to a March report by LightCounting.

    This article dissects the latest breakthroughs, from Google’s 9,216-port OCS topology to Chinese manufacturers’ rapid ascent, and explains why your next network upgrade must consider optical switching at its core.

The Technological Core – MEMS Mirrors Reach New Precision

    MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) optical switches work by tilting microscopic mirrors to redirect light beams from an input fiber to any output fiber without optical-to-electrical conversion. This “light‑layer switching” eliminates latency, reduces power consumption by 80% compared to traditional electrical switches, and allows for truly non‑blocking port configurations.

    Key 2026 Advancement – SCHOTT AG introduced the industry’s largest optical MEMS package cover with a 100 cm² window and zero birefringence. This enables single-chip integration of 320×320 mirror arrays, directly supporting 9,216×9,216 OCS fabrics when cascaded. Dr. Elena Voss, SCHOTT’s head of advanced optics, stated: “We’ve removed the physical barrier to terabit‑scale optical switching. AI clusters can now treat fiber connections as software‑reconfigurable resources.”

AI Data Centers – The Killer Application

    In 2025, Google revealed that its TPU v4 pods leverage OCS to dynamically reconfigure the inter‑GPU network, reducing training tail latency by over 50% and improving overall utilization from 60% to 92%. Since then, every major cloud provider – AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Meta – has either deployed or announced plans to deploy OCS in their next‑generation AI fabrics.

    A June 2025 paper from Stanford University’s Optical Networking Group demonstrated that replacing top‑of‑rack electrical switches with MEMS OCS cuts the number of transceivers by 40%, while slashing power per switch from 1.2 kW to just 150 W. For a 10,000‑GPU cluster, this translates into annual energy savings of over 8 million kWh.

Why Now?

·         Latency wall: Electrical switches add 2‑5 µs per hop; optical switching reduces it to <10 ns.

·         Topology flexibility: OCS allows any‑to‑any connectivity, perfect for all‑reduce operations.

·         Cost efficiency: Eliminates expensive retimers and gearboxes.

Breakthroughs from Asia – Chinese OEMs Challenge Global Leaders

    While US and European giants like Lumentum and II‑VI (now Coherent) have dominated the optical switch scene for years, Chinese manufacturers are rapidly closing the gap. At OFC 2026 in Los Angeles, Shenzhen‑based Eoptolink unveiled the NX300 OCS – a 320‑port MEMS switch with sub‑10 ms switching time, fully integrated with the open‑source SONiC operating system.

    Guangxi Coreray Communication Technology Co., Ltd. has also made significant strides. Their latest 1×16 MEMS optical switch, built on an SOI (silicon‑on‑insulator) platform, achieves an insertion loss of only 1.0 dB and polarization‑dependent loss below 0.2 dB. The device has passed Telcordia GR‑1221 reliability tests, making it suitable for both telecom ROADM and hyperscale data center applications.

Research Highlights – Non‑Volatile Optical Switching

    Away from industry, academia is rewriting the rules of optical switching. In November 2025, a joint team from Zhejiang University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences published a cover paper in Science Advances demonstrating the world’s first 16×16 non‑volatile MEMS optical switch array. Instead of continuously consuming power to hold mirror positions, the device uses van der Waals adhesion (normally a failure mechanism) to achieve zero static power consumption. Switching energy is just 1.2 pJ per port, and the array endured over 1 million switching cycles with no degradation.

“This could lead to optical switch matrices that consume no power when idle – a game changer for large‑scale photonic integrated circuits,” commented Prof. Li Huan, co‑author of the study.

    The optical switch industry is at an inflection point. AI’s relentless demand for low‑latency, high‑bandwidth connectivity has turned MEMS optical switches from a niche telecom component into a strategic technology. With major product launches from Eoptolink, Lumentum, and Guangxi Coreray, plus research breakthroughs in non‑volatile switching, 2026 will be remembered as the year optical switching went mainstream.