Space division switches based on semiconductor optical amplifiers

Abstract

No ooIf -qt -S-1 8S,7Abstract Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) can be used in space-division (SD) switches to provide both switching and optical gain. We present a general analysis of optical switches using SOAs, considering noise and saturation effects associated with amplified spontaneous emission. Based on this analysis, we derive size limitations of SD switches.Three specific SD switching architectures are considered. For a the lumped gain matrixvector multiplier (MVM) switch, switch sizes are limited to the range of 3000x3000 for SOAs with saturation output powers of 100 mW. Based on the effects considered in our analysis, distributed gain MVM switches and Benes switches are not limited by signal-tonoise ratio and saturation up to sizes of 10 8°x 10 80 for SOAs with saturation output powers of 100 mW. r-, .. ' . , "I "I .,2

All-Optical Label Swapping of Scalable In-Band Address Labels and 160-Gb/s Data Packets

“…For what concern the scalability limit imposed by the OSNR degradation, since the losses of the AWG (around 3-4 dB) can be compensated by the amplification provided by the SOAs in the MZI-switches, the OSNR is expected to be reduced steeply after the first SOA-MZI switch, but after that it degrades gradually. The calculation depends on the amplifiers noise figure, the input optical power of the CW signals, and the gain of the amplifier [16]. As a reference, in a recirculation buffer containing 4 cascaded SOA [17] and with a totally compensated loop losses, an OSNR of 26 dB was measured after eight recirculation loops, which corresponds to 32-cascaded SOA.…”

Nano-opto-electro-mechanical switch based on a four-waveguide directional coupler

“…The performance of switches highly depends on the switching method they employ. The approaches reported in the literature rely on different physical mechanisms, e.g, gain tuning [1][2][3][4], thermal tuning [5][6][7], electro-optical tuning [8][9][10], acousto-optic deflection [10,11], micro/nano mechanical actuation [12][13][14][15][16]. However, each of these approaches has some shortcomings.…”

“…However, each of these approaches has some shortcomings. Switches based on gain or thermal tuning usually consume significant power (tens or hundreds of milliwatt) [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] and cause a heat dissipation problem, when densely packed. Electro-optical switches can be very fast (sub-nanosecond switching time) but usually require relatively large footprint (a few millimeters) [8][9][10], due to the small tuning range of refractive index by electro-optics.…”

Fiber Bragg grating-based large nonblocking multiwavelength cross-connects

“…The total cross-connect bandwidth is proportional to where is the number of input fibers, is the number of wavelengths per fiber, and is the bit rate per wavelength channel. Different space-division switch technologies based on such as waveguide directional couplers [6], semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA's) [7], low-gain EDFA's [8], and arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) multiplexes [9] have been demonstrated. The basic operation for both of the above wavelength-routing WXC's is that they select wavelengths and rearrange them in the spatial domain.…”