All optical multichannel multihop networks

A photonic packet switching communication network is presented and its feasibility is discussed. In particular, it is explicitly supposed that the electro-optical conversion is done only by the end users, while all other network functions (transmission, signal processing, routing, etc.) are implemented by photonic circuits. To interconnect the independent channels obtained by partitioning the global optical bandwidth, the class of topologies, called extended shufflenet, is considered. Two particular networks of this class (multiwavelength loop and extended shufflenet with shared channels), which have routing algorithms simple enough to be implemented by photonic circuits, have been analyzed. The photonic architecture developed for the multiwavelength loop has been applied to the extended shufflenet, which is a feasible possibility for a network with a sustained capacity of the order of the gigabit/s per user. The photonic components used in these circuits have been demonstrated in various laboratories and essentially comprehend delay lines, optical switches, simple optical gates, frequency converters, optical filters, etc. Some of these components have been experimentally integrated in subsystems and the implementation of the proposed circuit with today technology appears feasible