All Optical Add and Drop Multiplexing Node for Hybrid Topology Networks

A new concept for all optical add and drop multiplexing (OADM) node is presented. The node is meant to act as gateway node between optical network segments that exhibit diverse properties in terms of multiplexing systems, granularity and modulation formats. The general architecture of the mentioned OADM node is presented, showing that the node is able to act as a “language translator” between network segments based on OTDM and WDM systems exploiting different modulation formats to transport data streams (RZ-OOK and NRZ-DPSK respectively). The design and experimental demonstration of a first prototype of an OADM node that is able to convert a NRZ-DPSK data signal coming from the WDM stream into a RZ-OOK signal, to drop one channel from the OTDM stream and insert the converted signal into the released time slot are presented.