Highly reliable and economical WDM ring with optical self-healing and 1:N wavelength protection

A novel WDM four-fiber ring with high reliability and economical architecture has been demonstrated. An optical self-healing function reduces the amount of electrical circuit required for protection. The high reliability for a network achieved by a 1:N wavelength protection scheme is almost equal to that attained in a conventional SDH four-fiber ring. We have confirmed that restoring, automatic protection switching, and 10 Gb/s WDM transmission can be achieved with the new ring