Fig. 6.

Switching a 1 Gb/s data stream using a three-capillary filter. The bit error rate (BER) for two different configurations of a device with three 1.2 mm outer diameter glass capillaries separated by 1 mm metallic rod spacers, measured as a function of power at the input port (Port 1) of the filter. a The 000 configuration corresponds to all three capillaries filled with liquid metal. b The 101 configuration corresponds only the central capillary filled with liquid metal. c Error-free performance (BER <10⁻⁹) can be achieved in all configurations. When the device is configured to direct the signal out of Port 2 (i.e., the 101 configuration, dashed lines with triangles), error-free performance is much more easily obtained from Port 2 (power requirement reduced by ~6 dB). In contrast, when the device is configured to direct the signal to Port 3 (the 000 configuration, solid curves with circles), ~9 dB less power is required to achieve error-free performance at Port 3