Integrated optical switch matrices for packet data networks.

Integrated circuit technologies are enabling intelligent, chip-based, optical packet switch matrices. Rapid real-time re-configurability at the photonic layer using integrated circuit technologies is expected to enable cost-effective, energy-efficient, and transparent data communications. InP integrated photonic circuits offer high-performance amplifiers, switches, modulators, detectors, and de/multiplexers in the same wafer-scale processes.

Monolithic active-passive 16 × 16 optoelectronic switch.

We present what is to our knowledge the first active-passive monolithically integrated 16×16 switch. The active InP/InGaAsP elements provide semiconductor optical amplifier gates in a multistage rearrangeably nonblocking switch design. Thirty-two representative connections, including the shortest, longest, and comprehensive range of intermediate paths have been assessed across the switch circuit.

InP monolithically integrated wavelength selector based on periodic optical filter and optical switch chain.

We present an InP monolithically integrated wavelength selector that implements a binary search for selecting N modulated wavelengths. The wavelength selector filter is realized using log(2)N an active Mach-Zehnder interferometer filter and broadband optical gating elements. Nanosecond reconfigurable operation with a spectral-alignment over 3.

Scalable InP integrated wavelength selector based on binary search.

We present an InP monolithically integrated wavelength selector that implements a binary search for selecting one from N modulated wavelengths. The InP chip requires only log(2)N optical filters and log(2)N optical switches. Experimental results show nanosecond reconfiguration and error-free wavelength selection of four modulated wavelengths with 2 dB of power penalty.

Clock-distribution with instantaneous synchronization for 160 Gbit/s optical time-domain multiplexed systems packet transmission.

We demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, a clock-distribution method for ultra-high-speed optical time-domain multiplexed systems data packets that provides instantaneous synchronization, fast locking/unlocking times, and a highly stable bursty clock, enabling error-free operation of 160 to 10 Gbit/s time demultiplexing with a power penalty of 1.5 dB after 51 km transmission in standard single-mode fiber (ITU G.652).