A PHOTONIC WAVELENGTH-DIVISION SWITCHING-SYSTEM USING TUNABLE LASER DIODE FILTERS

A photonic wavelength-division switching system using semiconductor tunable wavelength filters is proposed. First, the switching system using wavelength switches and multistage switching networks is discussed. A crucial point in developing this switching system is to achieve a large number of wavelength-division channels. The potential of 100 wavelength-division channel achievement in such switching systems is estimated, based on InP optical integrated circuits. The authors propose a wavelength network synchronization, which will enable the network to utilize such a large number of wavelength-division channels without wavelength misalignment and drift. Finally, an 8-channel wavelength-division switching experiment, which has been successfully carried out by using phase-shift-controlled distributed feedback laser diodes as tunable wavelength filters, is reported. © 1990 IEEE