FRONTIERNET: frequency-routing-type time-division interconnection network

• Published in: Journal of lightwave technology 1997-03, Vol.15 (3), p.417-429
• Main Authors: Sasayama, K., Yamada, Y., Habara, K., Yukimatsu, K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Exact sciences and technology; Frequency conversion; Frequency division multiplexing; High speed optical techniques; Optical buffering; Optical filters; Optical frequency conversion; Optical losses; Optical switches; Road transportation; Switching and signalling; Systems, networks and services of telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications and information theory; Tunable circuits and devices
• ISSN: 0733-8724; 1558-2213
• DOI: 10.1109/50.557556

This paper describes a photonic time division multiplexing (TDM) highway switch, called FRONTIERNET, that uses optical frequency as routing information. This switch architecture can be applied to asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching systems. The N/spl times/N switch consists of N tunable frequency convertors and N frequency-division-multiplexed (FDM) output buffers connected through an N/spl times/N frequency router. The router can interconnect N input highways with N output highways in a completely noninterfering way. It is possible to address each output highway uniquely by the choice of frequency (frequency routing) and each output highway can receive any given frequency from only one input. This switch architecture therefore has three advantages: its novel output buffering scheme achieves the best possible performance, there is no need for a complicated contention resolution mechanism between input highways, and there is no splitting loss of the transmitted optical power. An experimental switch with a one-cell FDM buffer was constructed. The tunable frequency convertor based on fast tunable frequency lasers can transmit high-speed optical cells to which frequencies are assigned on a cell-by-cell basis. The frequency router is an integrated-optic arrayed-waveguide grating 16/spl times/16 filter produced by using planar-lightwave-circuit (PLC) technology. The one-cell FDM output buffer based on optical fiber delay lines can store FDM cells and select only one cell at each timeslot over the output highway. A 2.5-Gb/s experimental switch was successfully operated, And an experimental FDM loop buffer was also demonstrated. This stores two cells at a data rate of 2.5 Gb/s. The bit error rate (EER) of the cells after up to 10 circulations is