Optical routing control using coherent pattern-matching circuit for photonic self-routing switch

Optical routing control using a coherent optical pattern-matching circuit is described. This circuit can detect any specified pattern in an ultrafast optical signal sequence by using tapped delay-lines to optically correlate the input pattern with a set pattern. A whole 4-bit pattern-matching circuit was monolithically integrated on a silicon substrate by the silica-based planar lightwave circuit technology. The fabricated circuit operated at a bit rate of 4.65 Gb/s. Pattern-matching circuits can apply to optical routing control for photonic self-routing switches. Address-header formats for ring and banyan networks are also discussed from the point of view of the power penalty versus the number of addresses. The header for ring networks is composed of a binary code or a Gold code. The header for banyan networks is composed of code-division-multiplexed Gold codes. Optically routing-controlled photonic packet switching using headers composed of binary codes was experimentally demonstrated at a bit rate of 10 Gb/s