A NOVEL ALL-OPTICAL SELF-ROUTED WAVELENGTH-ADDRESSABLE NETWORK (SWANET)

A novel all-optical self-routed wavelength-addressable network based on a new multiwavelength routing protocol is proposed, A distributed switching network that uses a low-speed routing header provides a transparent path for the high-speed data while utilizing low-speed electronic processing of the routing header, Each data packet is preceded by a routing header composed of a serial combination of wavelengths, The number of destination addresses is dramatically increased over conventional wavelength-division multiplexing or conventional photonic packet switching networks for the same number of wavelengths or header digits, respectively, Al x 4 switching node is implemented demonstrating the switching and transmission capabilities of this wavelength-addressable network.