Current telecommunications networks rely on optical fiber links and electronic switches for transporting and directing data. Over the years, the optical and electronic network components had to be upgraded at an unusually high pace to meet dramatic increases in bandwidth demand, a trend that is expected to continue. Optical components have proven more capable of keeping pace with the quest for bandwidth than their electronic counterparts. As a result, much research focuses on shifting network functionality from the electronic to the optical domain. Fast wavelength switching is a technology that can potentially ease the burden on electronic switches and enable higher network capacity and efficiency. In this talk I will give a short overview of existing networks and present a new time- and wavelength-division multiplexed (T-WDM) ring architecture that is suited for improving Metropolitan-Area Networks. We recently demonstrated this architecture by sending Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) traffic over an asynchronous wavelength-switched packet network. Furthermore, I will describe a government-funded Bell-Labs research project with the goal of building an all-optical switch fabric with Petabit/s throughput. The project involves fast wavelength switching, Arrayed Waveguide Gratings (AWGs), integrated optical delay lines and a load-balanced switch architecture.

Contact Luis A. Orozco.