Photonic Network Technologies for New Generation Network

Abstract

SUMMARYIn this paper, we show the recent progress of photonic network technologies for the new generation network (NWGN). The NWGN is based on new design concepts that look beyond the next generation network (NGN) and the Internet. The NWGN will maintain the sustainability of our prosperous civilization and help resolve various social issues and problems by the use of information and communication technologies. In order to realize the NWGN, many novel technologies in the physical layer are required, in addition to technologies in the network control layer. Examples of cutting-edge physical layer technologies required to realize the NWGN include a terabit/s/port or greater ultra-wideband optical packet switching system, a modulation-format-free optical packet switching (OPS) node, a hybrid optoelectronic packet switching node, a packet-based reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) system, an optical packet and circuit integrated node system, and optical buffering technologies. key words: new generation network, optical packet switching, optical packet and circuit integrated network, transparent switching, burst-mode devices

Optical Packet & Circuit Integrated Network for Future Networks

“…We developed an optical switching technology where each optical packet consists of multiple wavelengths for speeding up packet transfer, and packets are switched by optical switches according to the information in the packet header [9]- [11]. Figure 2 shows an example format of a multi-wavelength optical packet.…”

“…Dedicating some of the wavelengths to the header of the optical packet minimizes the number of optical-electrical conversions. Thus, optical packet switching is energy efficient [11]. In contrast, if we use electronic switching, the wavelengths must be demultiplexed and all wavelength signals must also be deserialized into multiple low-speed signals for electronic switching.…”