All-optical label processor/erasure for label swapping of 12.5 Gbit/s spectrally separated bit-serial DPSK label and payload

A novel all-optical label processor/erasure for DPSK spectrally separated label and payload is demonstrated. Experimental results show the recognition of two different labels at 12.5 Gbit/s at distinct outputs, while the label is simultaneously erased allowing for a new label insertion. The low power and asynchronous label processor/erasure can be scaled to distinguish a larger number of labels, to operate at higher bit rate, and then can be potentially used in an optical label switching network.